Michael's Undoing
by siofrafire
Summary: This story parallels episodes from season7 with some new & alternate tangents 2explore. It also delves deeper into the pain & psychological damage caused by Fiona's abandonment & being manipulated by the CIA from Michael'sPOV. Michael ?s his ability 2complete the mission that will save his family &friends while trying 2decide where his allegiances will fall. Please review when done


"_At a very early age I quickly learned life wasn't fair. Growing up in a house where your father acts like a ticking time bomb, and you never know what's going to set him off, you learn to survive anyway you can. Dodging emotional mine fields, and navigating through the obstacle courses of angry outbursts became second nature to me, and subsequently, a way of life. Never knowing which drunken binge will cause your alcoholic father to start hitting your little brother, or using your mother for a personal punching bag, you soon realize nothing about life is fair. Skillfully, I learned to distract my father, and keep his rage focused mostly on me, I did whatever I could, whatever was necessary to keep my family safe from the bruises and welts waiting for us at the end of every empty bottle."_

"_Looking back some of the lessons I learned from my childhood weren't so bad. Some of them were actually useful. Of course I didn't know it at the time, but some of those lessons were preparing me for my life as a spy. My childhood taught me to accept certain uncertainties. For instance, pain is inevitable, people are fallible, including the ones you love and trust. Two things I was never any good at, but one of the most significant lessons my early years taught me was that if you want something bad enough, you have to do whatever it takes, and go as far as you have to go to achieve your goals. You have to commit one hundred percent to the task at hand, and sometimes you have to lie, mislead, and even hurt the people you may care about to see something through to the end."_

The air in the meager studio apartment was particularly muggy that evening and Michael felt like he was roasting in the unforgivable swelter of his second story room. All four walls were beginning to close in on him, and it was affecting his ability to fall asleep. His mind couldn't keep still long enough to drift into slumber, and his memories continued to besiege him as he muttered his brother's name out loud. "Nate… will I ever be able to hear your name without the guilt haunting me? I miss you brother! I never realized how much I took you for granted until you were gone. Mom still can't look me in the eyes when your name is mentioned. I don't think she'll ever completely forgive me for your death, but then again neither will I_…" _

Giving up on the idea of getting any rest, Michael finally reached up and pulled the chain above his head to turn the light on. He stared at the tiny cubicle that could scarcely pass as a room. It was covered in flaking, chipped paint, and patches of crumbling dry wall surrounded him on every side. What little did remain of the shedding paint only hinted that its former color must have been some deep hue of green. He listened to the old, rusty fan in the corner of his room situated by the window oscillating back and forth. Regrettably it provided no relief from the thick, repressive heat. Almost in mockery the fan continued to circulate the dank, stale air throughout the dimly lit room. Choking on his own misery he had to get out of his own head and he began to imagine taking Fiona to the white sands and blue waters of Punta Cana Beach. He could almost feel the sea breeze as he watched it blowing wisps of her long brown hair across her face…It wasn't very far from where he was now, yet it might as well be a million miles away.

Michael felt the perspiration dripping from his pommelled and battered body soaking the sweat stained sheets beneath him. Lying on the damp bed snapped him back to reality. He stared up at the moths absurdly bouncing again and again off of the single light bulb swinging from the long, silver, beaded-chain. He thought to himself, "This is the kind of light grandma had hanging over her medicine cabinet in her bathroom." The kind of chain he remembered playing with as a child, pulling on it over and over again. On/off...On/off. Some of his fondest memories were in that old, post war, duplex house his grandmother lived in. It always smelled like a mixture of Bengay and chocolate chip cookies, and to this day he couldn't smell either one of those things without thinking about her.

Hearing the clinking of the flying insects bouncing of off the glass, he somehow identified with the futile moths. Banging their heads over and over again against the light wasn't much different than what he had been doing ever since he got burned. Going after something, but never really reaching it. Hitting the same walls over and over again himself, it seemed like the perfect metaphor for his actions these past seven years. He was laughing now at his own meaningless train of thought, he knew it wasn't exactly the height of intellectual stimuli or the most gratifying form of entertainment watching moths fly into light bulbs, but it helped him occupy his thoughts, and anything, no matter how inane, was a welcomed distraction.

He was tired of thinking about Fiona, about Nate, and about this pain in the ass mission that had swallowed up any remaining resemblance of the man he used to be. Was it even a mission anymore or was this his life now? Thinking about moths and light bulbs helped his thoughts stop creeping into his past. That's where Fiona was now… in his past. A half chuckle, half groan escaped his lips. The irony was not lost on him that he once killed a man for telling him Fiona was in his past. He was trying to accept that it was finished between the two of them, but it wasn't easy. He had known it was true the day she had given him the "kiss goodbye" only moments after he helped rescue her from Dexter Gamble. Dexter, the mercenary willing to kidnap and kill her just to get to him. His associations had once again put her life in danger. How many times had she been put in harm's way because of him and his work? He knew Fiona was better off without him, at the very least, she would be safer, and for that reason alone he would let her go.

Trying to focus on something that didn't involve Fiona was proving more difficult than he could have ever imagined. She had been intertwined in every area of his life for over a decade. They worked together, slept together, and faced countless life and death situations together; they had even buried Nate together. There was no denying the place she had carved out and occupied so deeply in his heart and in his mind. "I knew from the moment I saw her, my life would never be the same and I was right. She was the only woman I ever truly loved, the only person I ever needed. The only person I still need. I miss you Fi…"

* * *

"_Sometimes you have to become someone else when you're on a mission. When you're in deep cover it's easy to blur the lines of your own personal moral code. The longer you're living a lie the easier it is for those boundaries to get distorted. Occasionally, to reach your target, or achieve your objective, you have to be willing to destroy yourself a little piece at a time. You hope someday that when the job is finished there is still something authentic left of you, of your soul, and of your real life"_

Michael began to rationalize why he was held up in his tiny apartment, removed from the people he had grown to trust and to love, something he thought he would never be capable of. "I've become the washed out spy the CIA needs me to be, I've become the drunken has been Burke has to believe I am, all so I can save the people I love from a life in prison. I have to do this for you Fi, you may have left me, but you will always be a part of me. I have to do this for Sam and Jesse. I'm not going to lose anymore brothers, and that's exactly what Sam and Jesse have become to me…brothers. I'm doing this so I can end this nightmare!"

Sam had saved Michael's life more times than he could remember, He was his best friend. He was colorful, likeable, not complicated, and he had been there for him every time he was in trouble or needed help. Sam even walked away from the love of his life Elsa, when they were on the run from every government agency known to exist to man. Someday Sam had hoped to be able to be with her again, but he stayed with Michael to fight beside him, and never gave up hope that they would somehow find a way out of that mess. Jesse too, he found it in his heart to forgive Michael after he accidentally burned him, and lied to him about it for months. He realized Michael was trying to make right what he had unknowingly done to Jesse. Like Sam, he had become a trusted and friend and always been there for him when Michael needed him. "I just have to remember why I'm here, why I agreed to take the deal the CIA offered me."

* * *

Michael was never a heavy drinker except rarely when an undercover mission called for it, but even then there were tricks to consuming less alcohol than what people believed you were actually drinking. Having the waitress come and fill up another glass before the one you were drinking was fully empty, order drinks with extra ice, and if you were really desperate you could always spill one if you needed to. However, this time was different for Michael, this time he needed it.

"_When I joined the military I thought I was untouchable, unaffected by the emotional pain that most people seem to experience from absence and loss. I was impervious to feeling the way other people did. I didn't need anyone and I liked it that way. The only person I ever relied on was me. I guess my dad in a way helped shaped the person I had become, and eventually I found a place to use that to my advantage. That's one of the reasons when the CIA recruited me I quickly became a rising operative. My training started way before the CIA sent me to the "farm", way before the Special Forces trained me, even before the military had me at the age of seventeen in boot camp. My training actually started as a child in the Westen House"._

Michael detested that he needed something now. He despised himself for using whiskey to push aside the pain of all that he had lost. Nate, his friends, his family, his job and Fi… it always came back to Fi…

Lying with his back against his blood stained pillow Michael threw the half empty bottle of rot gut whiskey with such force that shards of shattered glass ricocheted off the wall and made tiny cuts on his face and arms. Now fresh blood mixed with the dried blood from last night's bar fight. He chose to make money fighting as part of his cover. It was a way to make ends meet and it looked good on his "burnt out spy resume." He thought it would help him keep up his fighting skills while attracting the right kind of people. He needed to alert them he was there without being too obvious about his true intensions. Deep down, a part of him believed he deserved the shit kicked out of him night after night. He deserved the punishment for the mess he made of his life and of the lives of everyone he loved.

Finally giving up on the notion of getting any sleep, Michael swung his legs over the edge of the rickety bed and winced in pain. He had at least two fractured ribs. Breathing normally was proving to be a little bit difficult; he thought they might even be broken. The smell of his own stench reminded him that he needed a shower. How many days had it been, two, three? He couldn't even remember anymore. He slowly got up off the bed, and cautiously walked to the bathroom. He turned on the water at let it run for a while so it would get hot. His knuckles were busted, and he had bruises all over his face and body. For a long time he stared at himself in the dingy mirror whose corners were now fogging up with steam. He hardly recognized the bearded man with lifeless eyes staring back at him in the hazy reflection. He carefully undressed and climbed into the shower. Leaning against the wall, holding his ribs, he let out a sigh as the hot water cut through the blood and grime. Absently he watched the pinkish water pool beneath his feet and sweep down the rusty drain.

Michael was always comfortable in whatever world he was living in, whether it was a five-star hotel, his own loft, or the caves in Afghanistan. He was a chameleon, and whatever role he was playing, he did it well. That is part of what made him so good, so believable. He preferred tidy, clean, and shaven; but messy, dirty, and scruffy was a part of his cover, and he was fully committed.

He was beyond exhausted, and hanging on by the tiniest thread of sanity. A few times while fighting he considered just staying down and letting his life quietly slip away; but he had a driving force pushing him forward, always forward. When others would have given up, he forced himself to get up and win the fight. He had to win for his mother, for Sam, for Jesse, for Fiona, and even though his brother was dead now even for Nate. If he didn't, they would all end up paying the price for his sins, and Nate's son would never know his family. Failure was not an option. He knew he would do what he had always done. He would do whatever it took, and go as far as he had too, to get the job done. He would take down Randal Burke and end this once and for all, for all of them, including himself. With that final thought he let the steaming water massage his back and for a few cherished moments he pushed everything away and there was just darkness.

* * *

He knew Burke was still testing him. He paid attention to every detail of Michael's life. If Burke thought he was still in love with Fiona his whole cover could unravel. Michael had to keep up appearances. Once he showered and dressed; he opened another bottle of whiskey, and had a couple of drinks. He put clean linens on the bed and made himself something to eat. He wasn't hungry, but he forced himself to eat anyway. He had a few more drinks to kill the pain his body was feeling from last night's fight. When he finished he headed out for the bar. Michael had already built up his reputation as a bad ass and the women continually buzzed around him. He didn't encourage it or even like it. Sometimes it even led to some unpaid fights because some drunken boyfriend thought he was hitting on his drunk, annoying, girlfriend. The truth of the matter was that the women were always approaching him.

A couple of times he had taken a local girl home trying to forget his real life for a little while, It was purely physical, never emotional, and he always felt a little guilty. He knew Fiona was with someone else now, but he still loved her. Any temporary comfort he found in the arms of another woman always left him a little disillusioned. It was always disappointing waking up next to someone who wasn't Fiona, and this particular morning wasn't any different. Before Fiona came into his life if he happened to indulge in a one night stand, which wasn't very often, he would always try to be a gentleman during the awkward next morning. He would at least offer the girl some coffee and some breakfast. One of the only benefits of not being himself on this mission was that he could wake her up, tell her to get dressed, and tell her to leave, which he gladly did this morning. His cover allowed for such boorish behavior and he was grateful because he couldn't afford any attachments now. He didn't want any of the complications of a relationship, not even a fake one for his cover.

Burke had watched him for six months before he ever reached out to him. Three months later he was still waiting for Burke to trust him enough to understand the comings and goings of his organization. He needed details for Andrew Strong, details he didn't have yet.

It had been a couple of weeks since Michael pulled his last job for Burke. _"When you're in deep cover waiting is one of the hardest things you have to do. The longer and deeper you are into your cover the more real that life becomes to you. All the people in your real life continue to move on without you, and like a river's current carrying a piece of drift wood further and further away, you disappear down stream."_

Burke was beginning to use Michael more often now. Each time Michael did a job he knew he was evaluating him to see if his skill set was still as strong as they once were. Michael excelled at every aspect of being a top operative. He was experienced in combat, unconventional warfare, direct action, counter terrorism, sabotage, explosives, interrogation techniques, logistics, foreign languages, and he had the ability to intermingle with the local population to discover information that otherwise might be impossible to gather with other kinds of recon, he was also good at turning assets. Burke was finally convinced Michael was still as capable as he always had been and he began to trust him with more responsibility in his organization.

Burke had a new job for Michael to do. Michael suggested using his friends Sam and Jesse on it. The truth was that Michael needed to see some familiar faces. Burke told him that he had already arranged for someone to help him out with the job. Consequently, later, Burke ended up killing the man who was supposed to work with Michael for being too greedy. The guy wanted more money than what they had previously agreed upon and he was threatening Burke's operation. As fate would have it there was now a job opening and Burke gave authorization for Michael to go ahead and use his own people.

* * *

When Sam and Jesse arrived in the Dominican Republic they could see Michael's appearance had changed drastically since the last time they saw him in Miami. He was a thinner and gaunter and something was amiss in his eyes. Michael knew his appearance had changed over the last year and he recognized that parental look of concern both Sam and Jesse were sharing, but never the less he was happy to see them both. Michael dismissed the look of concern on his friend's faces, and greeted them with a warm smile and thanked them for coming to the DR on such short notice. They didn't have much time to catch up and headed straight to their meeting with Burke.

When the meeting was over, Sam was even more convinced that some bad mojo was happening there in the DR. He knew after months of Michael being alone, he was losing himself into Burke's world. Michael had basically agreed with Burke that both Sam and Jesse would be willing to kill any guards that got it their way while doing the job. When Burke asked Sam and Jesse directly about it, they both told Burke they were on board with doing what they had to do for the mission. However, when they were finally alone with Michael, both Sam and Jesse made it clear that neither one of them were willing to shoot a man for a truck full of equipment. Sam was pushing Michael for answers. "Where is my friend Mike? The man I knew would never be o.k. with what Burke is asking us to do." Michael could see the disappointment in both Sam and Jesse. He finally told them the entire truth about what he was doing in the Dominican Republic, and the about the deal he made with the CIA. Michael continued to explain, "The reason I'm here is to take down Burke and dismantle his entire organization." "Mike we know that," Jesse said. "Yeah, well what you don't know is the deal I made with the CIA was not about me getting my old job back, if I don't complete this mission for Andrew Strong, then all of us go back in a CIA hole, including Fiona and my mom for the rest of our lives." "Wow!" "Yeah, you said it brother, wow!" With new understanding the picture became clearer about why Michael looked like the entire world was weighing upon his shoulders. It's because it was!

"Mikey, why didn't you tell us about everything when this first happened or even when you were in Miami?" "I wanted to Sam, I really did, but there was no point in everyone worrying while this whole thing was going down. I didn't know how long it was going to take and I still don't know. I told you I would make it right when we were on the run and Sam, I meant it!" "Brother, I know you think you have to do this all on your own, but we all chose a path and it was on the side of right. You didn't force any of us to do what we did." " You know that's not exactly true Sam, when I killed Card, I changed the rules, and because of me, if I don't pull this off... you and everyone else I care about will have to pay for my mistake, but I promise you Sam, I will end this once and for all." "Well now you have us here Mike, and we're with you a hundred percent." "Yeah," Jesse said, we got your back Mike." "Thanks guys" "Hey Mikey." Yeah, Sam." "You're gonna show us where we can get a cold beer and grab some dinner right?" Michael laughed, "Sure, Sam sure."

* * *

The mission was over and they pulled off the heist. They now had over twenty-five million dollars worth of satellite decryption equipment. In the process of stealing the truck Sam had to kill a guard to protect Michael. Michael knew what that had cost Sam and because of his decision to involve them, he again caused another person he cared for immense pain. He needed this to end soon!

Burke was impressed with Michael and his friends. Michael was winning over Burke's belief in his loyalty for his organization. Burke left it up to Michael to secure a location for the next job. They would be meeting a terrorist by the name of Rafael Serrano to exchange money for the satellite equipment they had heisted. Because Burke trusted Michael to make arrangements for the meet, Michael was able to inform Andrew Strong on when and where the transaction would take place. Michael wanted them to take down Burke before the meeting, but Strong insisted that the CIA wanted this meeting videotaped and they would capture him only after the exchange.

Strong got his men in position to take down Burke as soon as they got the transaction on video. At the time nobody knew that Burke had arranged a helicopter to come and pick up his team when they finished with the meet. When the helicopter arrived for the team's extraction, the pilot saw all the snipers moving in and surrounding the building that Michael secured. When the pilot notified Burke of what awaited him outside, Burke's first reaction was to believe that Serrano had double crossed him. Serrano insisted that it wasn't him that brought the snipers. He reminded him that he wasn't even aware of the exact location of the meet until only minutes before hand. He told him he didn't have enough time to get that many men strategically placed around an entire perimeter. Burke turned his gun on Michael; Burke didn't know what to believe. Michael took quick action stood in front of a window while trying to convince Burke he would never betray him. Knowing the CIA was listening, Michael tried to alert Strong with his conversation with Burke to take a shot at him, but the only ones that picked up on his cue were Sam and Jesse. Sam grabbed a sniper rifle and shot at Michael, narrowly missing him on purpose. It was the opening Michael needed to further convince Burke that the men were with Serrano and not him. Michael grabbed Serrano by the neck and moved him in front of the window and demanded he call his men off or he would kill him. Even though Serrano knew that the men were not his, he did what he was told. Sam convinced Strong to pull his men back. He told him it was the only way that Michael would get out of this situation alive. At the last-minute Strong called off his men making it look like Serrano was the one in charge of the snipers. The pilot alerted Burke that the men were moving out. Burke, Michael and Serrano boarded the helicopter and left to an unknown location.

* * *

It was shocking to Michael that Burke blew up the satellite equipment and it was a new revelation that he wasn't doing all of this for the money. When lifting off from the meeting place, Burke immediately apologized to Michael for doubting him. He drugged Serrano and told Michael that Serrano had very valuable information for the people that he worked for. Michael was surprised that Burke worked for anyone, up until now he was under the assumption that Burke was the leader of the group. Michael asked, "Am I really "in" the organization Burke or am I just some tool to be used and discarded when they're done with me?" Burke told Michael to have faith and be patient. He told him it wasn't up to him and that it was up to the people he worked for. Michael couldn't believe that all this time the CIA thought Burke was the head of the organization he was working so hard to infiltrate. Strong heard the conversation too, they had been gunning for the wrong person!

Over time Michael was becoming impressed with Burke. He knew Burke truly believed in his cause. It wasn't about the money for him, which became obvious when he blew up twenty-five million dollars worth of satellite equipment, it was about something much deeper for Burke. Burke had a fire in his eyes, he was a believer. In what, Michael still didn't know. It made things simple for Burke. Michael envied him for that, it had been so long since anything was simple for him. He could tell Burke was on a set course and he was following it with zeal and passion. Nothing would stop him and nothing would get in his way. The only problem was that Michael was there to do just that. Michael was there to put an end to all the things that Burke was working so tirelessly for. It was difficult to fight side by side with somebody that you actually liked and respected, and purposely worked to deceive. It was even more difficult to know eventually you would be nothing more than a traitor in their eyes when they finally found out who you really were. Even though Michael was a trained spy, betrayal was never easy, especially when someone like Burke who had been a friend put their faith in him.

Now that Andrew Strong knew Burke wasn't the top man on the totem pole, he wanted Michael to dig in and entrench himself even deeper into Burke's organization. Whoever was in charge of this group still remained a mystery to the CIA and Strong wanted Michael to find out who he or she was. Strong was tired of waiting, it had been more then a decade's worth of pursuit for Strong to find the leader of this group. Strong had lost so much time pursuing Burke that he had even lost his family because of his obsessive nature over his work. Strong was more than ready for this to end and the CIA wanted it to end quickly they were running out of patience and time for Strong's mission.

Michael wondered how many more months his life would continue in deep cover? It had been almost a year. There once was a time he didn't care how many years he spent away from home, he never even thought twice about it. He surprised himself, did he think of Miami as home now? He never really thought of it as home before, even though he grew up there, home had always been wherever he laid his head down. All the years he was trying to uncover who was responsible for destroying his life he had only one agenda and that was to get his old life back working for the CIA. He was looking forward to leaving Miami once and for all. As irony played him a fool now all he could think about was completing the mission for Strong so he could return home.

* * *

Until now Michael thought he would be willing to do anything to win the freedom of his family, but now Burke was asking Michael to do the unthinkable. Serrano had information on a woman operative captured by the Russians and he knew her location. She had been a prisoner for weeks, and if by some miracle she was still alive time was of the absolute essence if they were going to rescue her. After days of interrogation Serrano was no closer to giving up Sonya's where abouts. He was afraid that the Russians would come after his family for revenge if he were to give up her location. Burke was desperate to free Sonya and came up with a plan to convince Serrano to talk. He wanted Michael to go into Serrano's family's house with a camera, feeding real-time information to Burke and Serrano. He wanted him to kill Serrano's family one by one, starting with the life of his young daughter. He wanted to push Serrano into giving up Sonya's location.

Michael didn't know if everything he had done this last year would be for nothing. He had done things, horrible things, but he had never hurt a child. Was it all a waste? Leaving Fiona, the fighting, the killing, forcing Sam to kill the guard? His family would be in prison forever…Could it really have been all for nothing? He knew he couldn't go through with what Burke was asking him to do, or could he? What had he become to even consider such a thing?

Michael approached the house and asked Burke,"Can I have one more shot at interrogating Serrano? Burke told him, "we are out of time and I want you to proceed as planned." Michael had a wave of nausea wash over him, he could taste the bile rising in his throat. He entered the sleeping child's room and pointed his gun toward her head. He was almost having an out-of-body experience. He was looking at himself wondering if he could end the life of the innocent girl sleeping so soundly in her bed. For the first time since he was a child he prayed. He prayed that Serrano would give up the information that Burke needed so he wouldn't have to do the unthinkable.

Michael could hear Burke and Serrano in his earpiece. As soon as Rafael saw Michael's gun pointed at his daughter's head. He cried out, "Mija!"He begged Burke, "Please don't hurt my little girl."Burke told him_, _"All you have to do is give up Sonya's location!" "You're giving my family a death sentence! The Russians will torture and kill them if I tell you where she is." Burke's eyes were cold and ruthless. He stared at him with steely reserve and calmly stated,"You don't need to worry about the Russians Rafael, and all you need to do now is worry about what you are seeing on that screen in front of you."Michael walked closer to her bed, Serrano screamed,"No, please don't do this!" Burke walked over to where Serrano sat, and leaned into his ear, and whispered, "You can stop him Serrano; just tell us where she is." "Fine I'll tell you, just please don't hurt my baby." He proceeded to tell him Sonya Lebedenko was at a Russian black site, in Cuba, in an abandon warehouse. Burke called Michael off and told him to stand down.

Michael stood over the child for a few moments and before exiting her room, he picked up a stuffed animal that had fallen on the floor and put it back in her bed. A couple of minutes later Michael heard through the earpiece the sound of a bullet ending Serrano's life. Burke gave him a gun, and one bullet, and told Serrano, "you can save your family from the Russians," and walked out of the room. The Russians wouldn't go after his family now that he was dead. Michael knew Serrano was a terrorist and deserved what he got, but he also knew that he had contributed to the sweet little girl never seeing her father again.

When the night air hit his face it cut through him like a knife. He inhaled deeply trying to gain his composure. He wanted to believe if it came down to it, he wouldn't have massacred Serrano's family one by one, but the truth of the matter was he didn't know. Had he become the monster that Larry always said he was? Simon once told Michael he was just like him. Was he like them now? Was he any different from the men he fought tirelessly against and brought down over the last two decades of his life? He honestly didn't know the answer to that question anymore.

* * *

When the mission was over and Michael was back at his apartment he was grateful that Sam and Jesse didn't know the truth about where he was or what he was doing that night. He didn't even bother to pour a drink for himself, he sat on the edge of his bed and drank straight from the bottle. He drank until he could fall asleep without seeing the little girl's angelic face haunting him every time he shut his eyes.

Michael woke up to the irritating sounds of something banging. He heard it again and again as he stirred awake. He realized it was _his _door that someone was banging on. He grabbed his gun from underneath his pillow and quickly sat up. His head was throbbing! The fog from last night's hang over made it difficult for him to orientate himself. His blurred sound and vision were slowly coming into focus. He thought he recognized the voices at the door; it was Sam and Jesse. He almost fell getting out of bed as he stumbled towards the door and let them in."Geeze Mikey you look like hell!"Jesse brought him a plate full of food and told him,"We thought you could use some breakfast before we go."Michael thought he was going to heave,"Thanks, just set it on the table." "What's a matter Mikey, don't you feel good? Are you sick or something?"Sam and Jesse both spotted the empty bottle of whiskey on his bed and they both looked at each other with a look that said, "that explains it." "Hey brother, it looks like you had a private party here last night." "I'm fine Sam." "Well yeah, I can see that Mike," Michael gave him one of those looks that said back off Sam! "What time is it?" Jesse looked at his watch_, _"7:00 a.m."

"Damn, we have to meet Burke in a half an hour. I'm going to hop in the shower, and do me a favor, don't mention any of this to Burke." When Michael left to clean up, Sam and Jesse talked about what they had just seen,

_"_I've never seen Mike like this before, he looks terrible, he never eats, and now this."

"Yeah," Jesse said, "the pressure is really getting to him, the cover, the CIA, and don't even get me started on Fiona and Carlos. I mean I like Carlos and all, but Mike and Fi, come on man, what are they doing? Anyone can plainly see they're supposed to be together. That whole situation has to be killing him. We all know how he feels about her."

"Well yeah, Jesse, but I'm pretty sure this is what Fiona wanted, I mean I agree with you completely, but what can he do? She doesn't really want anything to do with him anymore."

"I'm just glad we're here Sam, cause Michael is in a bad way right now."

"Yeah, you said it brother!"

* * *

They all met with Burke to discuss the details of Sonya Lebedenko's extraction. When Jesse inquired about who she was and why she was so important, Burke made in clear that it was a need to know basis and right now they didn't need to know. Ultimately, they had to get to Cuba and get eyes on the ground before they could make any plans to extract Sonya so they packed up and moved out to her location.

When they arrived in Cuba they immediately went to scout the black site Sonya was being held at. After seeing how many men were on site, and the fire power the Russian's had, it appeared to Sam and Jesse there was no way to infiltrate the building. Michael knew it too, but Burke was insistent that they would recover Sonya no matter what the cost, he told them she was vital to their operation. It was clear to everyone that going in hard was not an option; the building was surrounded by soldiers on the roof and on the ground. They had no idea what security was like on the inside, and they had no clue what part of the building Sonya was being held prisoner in.

Sam and Jesse were ready to pull the plug and call it quits. They were arguing with Burke who, in their opinion, obviously wasn't thinking clearly, but Burke was determined to get Sonya out alive. Michael said,_ "_I can salvage the mission"

"There is no way Mikey, look what we're up against. We all go home in body bags if we try to get her out! There is no way we can gain access to her even if we did know exactly where they were keeping her in the building."

"I have an idea Sam; I'll make an approach and ask to speak to the Senior Officer."

"Last time I checked, Michael Westen wasn't exactly loved by the Russians, in fact the last time I checked it was just the opposite, they loath you Michael and they are going to gun you down the moment they see your face."

"Hear me out Sam, I'll tell them I have information that the CIA is going to raid their site and if they provide me with protection I can get their prisoner off of the island and onto a boat that my CIA contact has waiting for us at the marina. We have to get them to bring her out of the building that's the only chance we have at retrieving her."

"Oh sure Mikey, how are you going to tell them anything? They're going to put a hole in your head as soon as they figure out who you are."

"Look Sam, I know it's risky."

"Risky is doable Mike, we do risky all the time, this is downright ludicrous!" Burke chimed in, "Do you have a better idea?" Sam was silent, "Well do you?"

"No, I don't."

"Then this is what we are doing!"

* * *

Michael was going to need help from Fiona if he had any chance at rescuing Sonya. He didn't ever want to have to call Fiona again after hearing her speak about him while she was under CIA surveillance the last time he was in Miami. When he heard her say she didn't know how long she was going to have to deal with the aftermath of Michael Westen, he had purposed to never ask her for her help or to put her life in danger because of him ever again.

Somehow here he was once again going back on the decision he had made to never involve Fiona. He hesitated calling her for so many reasons, but mostly because a part of him knew it would probably be the last time he ever heard the voice of the woman he loved. He knew this mission had a very slim chance of success, and he probably wouldn't make it out of this one alive_._

"Hi Fi."

"Michael? What is it that you need now?" Her voice was full of sarcasm.

"I'm...I'm sorry Fiona, but I need your help."

"You can't keep calling me, Michael; I just can't pick up everything and come running every time you need something. I have a life now you know?"

"I know Fi, and if there was any other way believe me I wouldn't ask. Fi, I know I made promises when we were in Panama and I'm sorry I couldn't keep them. I'm glad you're happy now Fiona." There were so many things he wanted to say to her. He wanted to tell her he still loved her, he wanted to tell her to leave Carlos and come back to him. He wanted to tell her he missed the way she smelled, and the way she munched on her celery we she ordered her cocktails. He missed the way her face lit up when she talked about guns and explosives. He missed the way she felt in his arms and how her hair draped around her shoulders when they were making love… but he knew there was no point to any of it because he would probably be dead in a few hours anyway. Fiona heard something different in his voice and her heart melted; she knew deep down that he really did want her to be happy. She agreed to help him and asked him what he needed.

* * *

Fiona didn't want to tell Carlos what she was doing for obvious reasons. It wouldn't be the first time they enlisted Madeline's help, so she asked Michael's mother to help her kidnap a Russian diplomat and make it look like he leaked the location of the black site in Cuba to the CIA. Of course Michael's mom was reluctant but she knew Michael's life depended on it, so in the end she agreed to help Fiona.

In preparation for Sonya's snatch and grab extraction Michael was fitted with a listening device so the team could have ears on what was going on inside the building. Michael was used making sacrifices and this time was no different. Sam cut Michael's arm with a knife and hid the tiny device inside the gauze bandage they wrapped his wound in. They had hoped with enough blood seeping through the Russians wouldn't check it.

Michael knew his approach would be risky, but having actually been on the run from the CIA in his real life, shooting Card, his superior, and living the past year in the DR as a washed out spy gave him a slim chance of believability.

Michael made his approach,"I'm Michael Westen and I want to talk to the boss"_. _He thought he would be shot on sight but he actually made it through the front door. He spoke to the Senior GRU officer Vladimer Duboff. Michael tried to convince him that there were CIA agents getting ready to raid his site. He laid out the story exactly as he told his team he would do. He also told them that he had taken a bullet fragment in the arm and narrowly escaped the CIA agents earlier that morning. Vladimer didn't believe anything that Michael told him and wanted to know the "real" reason he was there. Michael insisted that he was telling the truth about the CIA coming to his site. Duboff had enough of Michael Westen's lies and ordered him to be water boarded.

_"Water boarding is a form of torture that is used for interrogation, coercion and sometimes punishment. The prisoner's head is tilted back, the hands and feet are bound, and a cloth is placed over the prisoner's face. Water is then poured over the nose and mouth inducing panic and making the person feel like they are drowning. Trying to remain calm is contrary to everything your body is telling you to do, but it is the only way to approach this form of torture if your captors are not willing to actually kill you with it. You can easily die from water boarding, but it can also be used to psychologically break the person the captors are trying to get information from. If they want you to stay alive, then you have a chance to survive, but just because your captors want you alive doesn't mean that you will live to tell them what they want to know. There is an extreme risk of sudden death due to aspiration, and if you don't die there is a chance that you could have adverse consequences, such as lung or brain damage from oxygen deprivation. Sometimes the captive even sustains broken bones due to struggling against the restraints." _

Michael was trying to stay calm but the sensation of drowning was taking over, he was gagging and choking and believed his life was coming to an end. He realized he was prepared to die. He had made peace with the idea of dying earlier in the day because a part of him believed he wouldn't make it out of the Russian warehouse alive. He was sorry for all the hurt he had caused and hoped his family would forgive him.

Michael's body began to relax and he sensed everything going dark around him, even the sounds in the room were beginning to fade. He was almost out cold when he heard the shouts of Vladimar jarring him back to consciousness. He could hear Vladimar yelling, "Stop, stop! Vladimar came close to Michael's ear and said, "this can all end Maykl Westen just tell me why you are really here."

The guard took the cloth off of Michael's face and sat him up right. Michael was still choking and gagging. "Maykl this can end quickly just tell me truth, why are you here?"

"I told you Vladimir and you are WASTING TIME! There are CIA agents at a hotel not far from here, and they are getting ready to take you out. Help me and I will get us and your prisoner out of Cuba."

"No, this is not possible; no one knows we are here."

"Then how do I know the CIA is here for Sonya? Someone from the Russian embassy gave you up!"

"This is top-secret location, do you think some low-level diplomat knows we are here? NO impossible!"

"Check it out for yourself Vladimer because time is running out!" Vladimer gave the order for the guards to continue to torture Michael, a few minutes later one of his men handed him a note. The consulate relayed information and verified a Russian diplomat had gone missing. There was evidence and documentation of the black site's existence, and that the diplomat had made phone calls to a nearby hotel. Again, Vladimer gave the order to stop. _"So it is true, we have diplomat missing from the consulate in Miami and there is evidence to suggest he knew of this warehouse."_ Michael was still choking and spitting up water, "Do you believe me now? "

* * *

Duboff ordered a team of GRU agents to capture the men from the CIA planning to raid their warehouse. Burke was listening and watching the location and as soon as the agents were on the move he let Sam and Jesse know they needed to finish up quickly. Sam and Jesse were making the hotel room look like the CIA was in a hurry to abandon their headquarters. They destroyed computer equipment and left shredded documents lying all around the floor. They were hoping to give Michael's story more believability. Unfortunately, the Cuban police showed up first and they had less time than they thought they would for their escape. The only option to get away was to jump from their balcony a few stories up from the first floor. They jumped on to a tour bus that was passing by their hotel room and luckily for them it was covered with luggage on the top rack to help break their fall.

Vladimer let Michael know, "The CIA agents escaped the hotel but they left behind a lot of computers and shredded documents. "We will try to recover as much information as soon as possible." Michael suggested, "You must have a leak because the CIA team was tipped off about your men coming."

"No it cannot be! I checked out each one of my men personally there is no leak here!"

"Well explain to me then how the CIA had time to destroy all of their evidence! They had to be tipped off that the GRU agents were coming for them." Burke was still listening to the conversation going on inside and he called Sam and Jesse. He wanted them to go back to the hotel and kidnap one of the agents to help give even more credibility to Michael's story.

Reluctantly they went back to the danger zone where they were out manned, but they knew Michael needed their help. The GRU agents were happy to be collecting all the potential CIA information and loading it in cars to take it back to Vladimer. Several of the guards returned to the hotel room to grab more items. Sam and Jesse finally caught a break because one of the guards was putting a hard drive into the trunk of his car and was all alone, so Sam and Jesse walked up behind him and dumped him into the trunk and left with the car. It was the perfect set up to make it look like the GRU agent took off with the information to keep it out of the hands of the Russians.

Fiona made it look like Ivan, a certain Miami diplomat, was sending money to the GRU agent in Cuba for information and his cooperation. When Vladimer found out about the missing GRU agent and seen evidence that one of his men were receiving money in their account he finally believed Michael. "Maykl are you sure escape route will work?"

"Of course, my man is waiting for us at the marina. He is probably wondering why we are not there yet."

"The prisoner is top priority for Moscow Maykl, if all goes well you will be rewarded." Michael was taken to the room that Sonya was in. Sonya was motionless lying on a thin mattress on the floor. She was handcuffed, and had a hood over her head. She was kept in a cage that was locked by a code. Michael observed the numerous bottles of drugs and syringes on a table across the room. There was only one guard inside the room and only one door in or out. The outside was heavily guarded.

Michael wondered who she was and why she was so important to Burke and his organization. He felt sorry for her; he knew her stay here would have been without mercy. He wondered how she had managed to stay alive after all these weeks. His only conclusion was that she must not have broken yet and that's why she was still there. She looked so small curled up on the floor. How could something that looked that fragile find the strength to stay strong day after day under the hand of Vladimer. He already admired her; she had the same kind of fight in her that Fiona did. Fiona was tiny too, but she had proven she was deadly on numerous occasions. Michael had the feeling Sonya was the very same way.

* * *

Vladimer entered the room and told the guard to get Sonya ready for transport. He was talking on the phone and Michael didn't like the sound of what he was hearing. Burke, Sam and Jesse were listening too by the marina. When Vladimer finished his call, he told his guard to leave Sonya in the cage. Michael questioned him and reminded him of the urgency of leaving before the CIA showed up. Vladimer told Michael there was no hurry now. He told him a Russian submarine was just off of the coast of Cuba and it was being diverted there immediately. Michael told them they didn't have time to wait. Vladmir assured him that he put extra men around the building and they were all very safe and would wait for the submarine to come. Vladmir ordered all the doors locked and left Michael alone in the room with Sonya and the guard.

Burke heard the news and quickly was planning a new strategy. Jesse and Sam told Burke it was over there was nothing more any of them could do. Burke wouldn't hear of it and told them he would never leave Michael or Sonya behind. He said, "The people I fight alongside are my family, and I would never leave my family behind."Burke told Sam and Jesse his plan. He was going to bring explosives into the warehouse secured in his laptop. He would say that he was Michael's CIA contact and that he wants to trade all the information on his CIA issued laptop for protection. If he could get close enough to Michael and Sonya and blow a hole through the wall maybe they could escape, and he wanted Sam and Jesse standing by to pick them up. Sam wasn't buying that he could save any of them with that plan. Burke assured him it was the only way he could think of to get them out alive. Sam finally agreed and thought a little better of Burke since he was willing to put his ass on the line to save Sonya and Michael.

* * *

Burke packed his lap top with explosives, he knew he was going to blow a hole through the wall and take out as many guards as he possibly could along with himself. He didn't tell Sam and Jesse that he knew it was a suicide mission, but his commitment to his cause was true, and Sonya had to be saved no matter the cost even if that meant losing his own life.

Burke walked up to the warehouse and introduced himself as Michael Westen's CIA friend. They brought him inside and Vladimer spoke to him. "So you are friend of Maykl Westen?"

"Yes, yes I am. I have been waiting for you at the marina for hours what's the hold up?"

"We will not need that boat ride. We have Russian submarine that will be here any moment." Burk told him that he wanted to make a deal and defect for the information that he had on his CIA issued laptop. He told him he would give him names, codes anything they wanted. Vladimer agreed but Burke insisted on seeing Michael first to make sure that he was alright. Vladimer escorted him to where Michael and Sonya were. "I would like to speak to Michael alone and then I will help you get this information before the CIA finds out that I am missing and changes my codes."

Burke was allowed to talk to Michael alone for just a few moments. Burke didn't have time to explain everything but he told Michael that when the time came to take out the guard and get Sonya out of there. He told him that she was the key to everything and that she was his future. Vladimer came in the room and Burke told him everything looked good to him so they could go take care of business. Once Burke was in position, he opened his lap top and detonated the explosives. He blasted a huge hole through the wall and just as he planned he took out as many guards as he could with the explosion. When Michael heard the commotion he overtook the guard in the room and made him unlock the cage that Sonya was in. He hit him over the head and picked up Sonya off of the floor. He carried her outside where Sam and Jesse were waiting for him. They were under heavy fire, but with the help of Sam and Jesse, Michael made it to the car with Sonya. Michael was grateful to Burke, he knew because of his sacrifice they both made it out of there alive. Michael was even more intrigued about the organization that developed the kind of allegiance in Burke that he was willing to die to save Sonya. They all made their way to the boat and they headed home for Miami.

* * *

When they arrived in Miami, Jesse called Fiona and let her know they were home safe, and Sam let Michael's mom know they were all alive and well. Sam dropped off a sleeping Sonya and Michael at his old loft. It had been almost a full day since they came in contact with Sonya and she still had not awakened. Whatever drugs the Russians had given her continued to effect her.

Michael intended to put her on his bed when they got upstairs to the loft, but the fire had made a mess of it. He remembered how hard it was for Fiona and him to purposely set their loft on fire. It had been almost a year since he had seen his place. He gently set Sonya on the floor. He called Sam and asked if he could bring blankets, pillows, and maybe some foam liners to make a makeshift bed so Sonya didn't have to sleep directly on the floor. He knew it was a huge imposition after barely arriving home, but he didn't have anything he needed at his place. The fire had destroyed most everything he had in the loft. There was no power, no running water. He was beginning second guess his decision to go to the loft instead of with Sam to Elsa's hotel. He had considered the offer, but he was feeling nostalgic for a piece of home.

He asked Sam if he could pick up some necessities too and maybe even get Elsa to help pick out some clothes for someone who was about Fiona's size. Sam as always came through and brought everything he mentioned and some things Michael didn't even think about asking for. "Thanks Sam, I owe you."

"How's she doing?"

"She's still asleep. Whatever they gave her was some hard-core stuff."

"You could say that again. Well Mikey, I'm beat and I'm going home. I have to rest up before Elsa wants some Sammy time." Michael laughed, "You earned it Sam, and thanks again...for everything."

Michael made a bed for Sonya on the floor and set her on it. He stared at her for quite some time. She was younger than he had expected her to be. He was very curious about her. What was her part in the organization? Why was Burke willing to die to retrieve her? He had a lot of questions but right now he was tired too and he sat down on the floor beside her, a few minutes later he was asleep.

* * *

Michael woke up to the sound of Sonya screaming, somehow she was still sleeping. He didn't have any power at the loft so he lit the candles that Sam had brought for him. He tried to wake her but she didn't move. He knew what it was like to be plagued by nightmares and he wished he could help her feel safe. He sat back down next to her and wondered what she was dreaming about. He looked at the time and couldn't believe he had already slept for two hours. His body was paying the price for it now. His neck was stiff and so was his back.

Sonya began to stir a little. Her eyes opened and they were as big as saucers. She quickly pounced to her feet and kicked Michael in the face. His jaw was reeling from the pain. He hastily stood up. His hands were above his head so Sonya could see he had nothing in them. "It's alright Sonya, you're safe. I'm a friend." She was taking in her surroundings, scouting the room. He could tell that she was looking for something, anything she could use as a weapon. He would have done the same thing. She was like a cat backed into a corner.

"Sonya, you don't have to be afraid. I'm a friend."

"You keep saying that, but I don't know you! Where am I? What is this place?"

"Sonya, think about it, you weren't handcuffed, I was sitting on the floor with no weapon, if I was going to hurt you, don't you think things would be a little different here?"

"Who are you?"

"My name is Michael Westen." The fear returned to her eyes.

"I know that name. Are you here to kill me?"

"Sonya, I'm going to say it again, try to listen to me this time…I aam yourr friennddd." He dragged out his words to make an exaggerated statement.

"How did I get here? How long have I been here? You didn't tell me where I am!"

"I'll try to answer all of your questions if you just give me a chance to do so; you are in Miami, in what is left of what used to be my home. Burke and I, and two of my friends rescued you from the warehouse in Cuba."

"Where is Burke? Why isn't he here?"

"Sonya, I'm sorry but Burke didn't make it. He gave up his life so you and I could get out of there." Her eyes watered and he thought she might cry but she didn't.

"Am I a prisoner?"

"No, I just told you what happened, you're not a prisoner."

"So, I am free to leave?"

"Well yes, but I need to talk to you about…..She headed towards the door to leave but she got dizzy and felt light-headed. She lost her footing and was about to hit the floor when Michael caught her. "The effects of the drugs they were using on you haven't completely worn off." Michael helped her back to the palette on the floor. "Look, it's going to take a while for the drugs to completely leave your system, you can rest here."

"Can I have a glass of water?"

"I don't have any glasses but I have a bottle of water, hold on a sec and let me get it for you." He brought it back to her and she drank it so fast she started to choke. "Slow down Sonya, and drink it slowly, it's been awhile since you had anything to drink. You've got to give your throat a chance to recover from being so dry." She tried to drink it slowly but she gulped it down anyway, she couldn't help herself. "Would you like another one?"

"Yes, please." She was still feeling foggy. "My head hurts."

"I'm sure it's a combination of everything you've been through. You're probably dehydrated, I don't know what they were using but from what I could see they had you on quite a drug cocktail, and I can see you took some blows to your face and probably your head too."

"I think I have some broken ribs and I have a gash on my side, and my shoulder is injured, I can't move it very well, I think it is dislocated. I need you to put it back into place for me"

"It's going to hurt."

"It is going to hurt worse if you don't"

Michael brought her to the table in the kitchen and laid her on it. He found one of his old hand weights and had her hold it. He guided the socket back into place letting the weight she was holding do most of the work. He felt the shoulder slide back into the socket. She never made a sound. "Thank you Michael that is much, much better." He helped her up and back to the bed.

"I don't have anything here, but if you promise to stay put, I can get a first aid kit from the club down stairs."

"I'll stay." Michael left to get the kit and on his way he called Strong and quickly gave him an update on everything that had happened in Cuba. He told him he would be working through Sonya to try to reach James. Strong couldn't believe after all this time, the only thing they knew about the head of the organization was that his first name was James.

Michael grabbed the first aid kit and a bottle of whiskey. He was shaking a little, it had been too long since his last drink and he didn't want Sonya to see him in that condition. He took a few drinks before he headed back to the loft. In the few minutes that he was gone she had already fallen asleep and she was out like a light. She had removed her outer shirt and was sleeping in her tank top. The glow from the candle was illuminating her face and he could see even through her swollen eye and busted lip that she was a pretty girl. Her blond hair was pushed away from her face now and the light revealed the bruising on her face and arms. He had seen the bruises on her face earlier, but her shirt was covering her arms. He wanted to take a look at the gash on her side but he was afraid he might scare her. "Sonya, Sonya," he shook her gently and she whimpered for a moment and then was silent. He saw needle marks all over her arms and her wrists were raw and covered in bruises too. It looked like she had been strung up by her wrist with ropes. He saw two finger nails missing from her pinky fingers. He wished he could have found her earlier. He gently lifted the side of her shirt and didn't see the gash so he reached for the other side. Sonya grabbed his hand. "Sonya you fell back asleep, I tried to wake you, and I just wanted to look at the gash on your side. See, I have the first aid kit." She let go of his hand and gently rolled to her side to make it easier for him to look at. It's scabbed over and was too old of a wound now to suture, it's infected. He cleaned it up the best he could, and disinfected it for her. He wanted to wrap her ribs for her but she asked if she could have a shower first. He told her there was no running water but he would see if he could get it turned on for her. He went downstairs and when he came back up to the loft he went to the sink to see if it was working now. "Yeah, we have water now, but there isn't any gas so it's going to be cold."

"I don't care, I feel disgusting! I would do anything to be able to wash my hair."

Michael lit some candles so she would have light in the bathroom. He helped her to the shower but between her shoulder, her ribs, and the gash on her side it was apparent that she was going to need some more help. Both of them knew it, but neither of them said anything. There was just an awkward silence for a moment. "Michael, you have done so much for me already, and usually my pride would not allow me to ask for such a thing, but I can't do this by myself, I need help."

"Um…yeah, I can help you…so how do you want to do this?" She laughed; I never thought Michael Westen would be a shy man."

"I'm not shy," he quickly answered.

"Well, usually I am," She answered softly, "but after weeks of being in that cage I would walk naked down the middle of the street if it meant I could get my hair clean." Michael laughed; he knew she was trying to put him at ease.

"Okay let's get your pants off first."

Sonya awkwardly laughed and said, "I bet you say that to all the girls Michael Westen."

He shyly smiled, "That wasn't too difficult." She had bruising on her abdomen. "Your shirt is going to be a little harder because of your shoulder." She lifted one arm and he pulled it through and then got the hole over her head and then slid the other side down instead of up to get it off of the other side. Michael diverted his eyes trying to give her as much privacy as he could in a situation like this. He turned the water on. "The water is cold!"

"I'm ready." She squealed from the shock of the temperature, it was freezing at first but her body began acclimating to it. Michael was quick; he had washed Fiona's long hair many, many times before. Sonya was grateful that he used conditioner too. She knew her hair was going to be a knotted mess. He very gently washed her back and very gently washed her wound. She was thinking that less than a day ago she was in prison and she never thought she would leave it alive. Now she was in Miami and Michael Westen was giving her a shower. Life was strange! She was thinking about Burke and how he sacrificed himself for her. She would continue on their path and make him proud; she didn't want his death to be in vain, it gave her strength and renewed commitment to their cause.

Michael was so thankful that Elsa had helped Sam pack everything they would need. He helped Sonya out of the shower, and quickly wrapped her in a towel. He handed her a tooth-brush and put some tooth paste on it for her and closed the bathroom door behind him.

Michael sat back down beside her bed and thought about how intimate two complete strangers had just been. When she was in the shower he saw the burn marks on her ankles and the bruised welts on her back. She had held out under such extreme torture and he was amazed by her fortitude. "This woman must have incredible inner strength." Michael thought to himself. She was just as committed to her cause as Burke was.

"Michael, you said your friend brought clothes?"

"Yeah there's a long T-shirt if you want that to sleep in?"

"That would be perfect thank you very much. Is there underwear too?" He handed them both to her. "I know you have gone way beyond the call of duty, but could you help me get dressed?" She was embarrassed by the state of her body.

He was staring at her back while he was helping her get into her clothes and Sonya could sense it. "Is it bad? Do you think they will scar?" He was careful to try to not hurt her but he accidentally caught a piece of her hair in his watch. "Sorry about that," he felt like an idiot.

"Don't worry about it; I have been through worse." She laughed nervously. He felt like he had invaded her privacy.

"They might scar, but if they do it won't be too bad. You will be the mysterious woman with the secret past."

"Oh, so you think I am mysterious Michael Westen?" She said playfully. He liked her and he liked taking care of her. When she was done getting dressed she felt exhausted. She sat down in the bed he had made for her. He handed her a brush, "Do you need help with that? I'm actually somewhat of an expert at brushing long hair."

"Oh you used to be a hippie with long, long hair?" He didn't expect that at all, and he started laughing. How long had it been since he felt like laughing? He couldn't remember, but it felt good.

"No, I had a girlfriend that had very long hair."

"Now it makes sense, that is why you knew to use conditioner."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"What happened to this girl friend that you used to wash and brush her hair?"

"You could say my work got in the way… Hey, I'm going to hop in the shower, do you need anything before I do?"

"No, Michael Westen I am good." Michael hid the bottle with his clothes and grabbed his toothbrush and a towel and made his way to the bathroom. He had a few drinks and put the bottle in the cupboard under the sink. He thought the cold shower sucked but it was better than feeling grimy.

* * *

Sonya was curious about Michael's girlfriend. She imagined that she was very beautiful and lady like. Sonya had always put her work first. She never allowed herself to think about love. Love was for other people. She had never been in a real relationship either. Every time she had been with a man it was for the job. She was trained as a valentine op. She could seduce, use her femininity to persuade men to give up their secrets, but she had never made love to someone because she was actually 'in" love.

She knew Michael had loved someone once because her snow globes were still in his loft. She wondered if it was the same girl who had the long hair. She imagined it probably was because he didn't want to talk about her. She knew that's why he left for the shower so quickly. She expected that his girlfriend was almost certainly nothing like her. She was probably sweet, demure, and curvy; she was never as self-conscious of her own petite frame as she was in front of Michael in the shower. She probably preferred jewelry to guns and was the kind of girl who was more at home in a clothing store than the jungles of South America…

* * *

When Michael dressed he came out to where Sonya was. She was still trying to brush her hair. "It looks like you needed some help after all."

"Yeah, I guess I do. My shoulder and my ribs are kind of getting in the way."

"Here, let me get that for you. He carefully brushed the long blond locks of hair, trying not to hurt her. Sonya was thinking to herself the "Michael Westen" that she had studied while training as a young GRU operative, was a machine, she had always thought of him as an indestructible force, a highly skilled operative that had steel flowing through his veins. To see his human side so up close and in person was fascinating to her. He seemed kind, thoughtful, gentle…"So do you want me to?" She was thinking so intently about him that she didn't hear the question that he asked her, and she was a little embarrassed, so she took a gamble and said, "Yes,"

He helped her to her feet. "How's the hair?" She ran her fingers through it, "It feels so good to have it cleaned and brushed!" He grabbed the bandages and slipped her shirt up. "Hold it there." Michael wrapped her ribs and bound them tightly. "Do you want something for the pain? I can get some pain pills or something for you?"

"Actually, I had my fill of drugs for a while, so I think I will just deal with the pain."

"Understandable." He helped her sit back down. He grabbed the first aid bag and took out the Neosporin. He took her delicate wrist and as carefully as he could he put ointment on her raw skin and taped a little gauze around them.

"My eye looks terrible"

"It's not so bad" he leaned in close enough to her face to dab a little ointment on her split lip. Sonya was uncomfortable with the feelings she had for this stranger, she wanted to kiss him but instead asked, "What time is it?"

"It's 2:23." "I'm really tired so I think I will try to get some sleep." Michael said, "That sounds like a good idea, I think I'll do the same."

Sonya saw that Michael was sitting next to her bed leaning up against the wall. She felt sorry for him. "Michael, there is plenty of room for us to share this bed; it is too uncomfortable to have to sleep up against the wall like that all night."

"No, really I'm fine."

"Michael, I insist, please, I cannot sleep knowing you would be so uncomfortable." He thought it sounded better too so he agreed and crawled in beside her. She rolled over on the side of her good shoulder and was now facing him. "You saved my life Michael and for that I owe you."

"Someday I'm sure you will return the favor. That's how it goes in our line of work."

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

"You can ask, but it doesn't mean I'll answer it."

"Fair enough," she said. "We studied you in training, no one could ever figure out why your kill count was so low. Some people thought you like to leave people alive to spread the fear of the legend of Michael Westen."

"And what did you think?"

"I realized the only time you killed is when it was absolutely necessary. I could look at a mission and tell who you would let live and who would die."

"So I was a noble operative?"

"Maybe, or maybe you were just weak." He laughed, "You know a lot about me Sonya, and I don't really know anything about you."

"That's the way our organization likes it Michael." She smiled and closed her eyes. For the first time in weeks she felt safe, maybe the first time ever…. Michael waited until she fell asleep and then he closed his eyes and drifted off too.

* * *

When Michael woke up Sonya was staring at him. It was a little disconcerting to wake up with someone staring at you, especially for all intents and purposes a stranger. "Good morning," she said.

"Good morning." Michael rubbed his eyes and sat up. "How are you feeling today?"

"More like myself."

"That's good, and the pain?"

"Well, let's just say it is tolerable, barely, but I think I will live.

I need to call my people, I have to get back to work and find out who turned me over to the Russians. They will pay for what they did!" Michael was reluctant for her to leave. He had been alone for so long and he really enjoyed her company. He tried to convince her to wait awhile and take some time to recover. "I guess I haven't been a very good care taker." He was trying to manipulate her into staying.

"Nonsense Michael, you have taken excellent care of me, I couldn't have asked for more."

"Oh I see, then it's my terrible personality that has you on the run." He said jokingly.

"Michael, stop teasing me, I am very grateful but I must get back home."

"Where is home?"

"You know I can't tell you that,"

"It was worth a try." She punched him in the arm; "I have to make a call."

"You can use my phone."

"No, I need the privacy of a burner phone, and something to eat because I'm starving!" She said with a grin.

"Let's see if Sam brought us anything to eat in the stuff he brought over last night." He was looking through the bags. "Okay we have apples, oranges and beef jerky, which I don't think I can chew because of the kick you gave me in the jaw last night." He said with a smirk while rubbing his face.

"I'm sorry, it was just a reaction."

"I know, I'm just giving you a hard time. It's not a feast but it's something to eat." They sat on the bed talking while eating apples and beef jerky.

Sam popped in, "Hey kids I brought coffees all around with some bacon, eggs and toast."

"You rock Sam!" "Of course I do Mikey." Michael helped Sonya up from the floor and they stood around the counter in the kitchen and ate.

"Thank you Sam for being so generous and for helping save my life."

"I'm just glad we all made it out alive and Sonya, I'm really sorry about your friend Burke."

"Me too Sam, he was a good man, a brave man, I will miss him!"

"Sam, I need you to pick up a burner phone for Sonya and maybe you could take me to my mom's house a little later so I can get my car and say hello?"

"Sure Michael, not a problem. I'll head out now to get the phone."

Michael excused himself and went to the bathroom, He let the sink water run while he took a few drinks from his stashed bottle of whiskey and then washed his face and brushed his teeth. When he came out Sonya said, "My turn." She washed her face with one hand and with a lot of trouble got the toothpaste on the tooth-brush and brushed her teeth. She realized it was going to take a while before she was back to normal. Michael and Sonya talked for a while, sitting on the pallet, waiting for Sam to come back with the phone. When Sam came in, he noticed how friendly they appeared to be with each other.

As soon as Sonya had the phone in her hand she asked Michael to put it together for her and activate it. Sonya stepped outside and made her call. When she came back in she let them know her people would be there in about a half an hour.

"When will I see you again and how will I get a hold of you?"

"I need to find out who was behind handing me over to the Russians. This is my first priority. As soon as I have that information I will call you." Sonya's people finally arrived and Michael helped her down the stairs to the car. "Bye Michael, I will talk to you soon."

"Bye Sonya, take care."

"Michael, are you ready to go see your mom?" "Yeah, let me just run up to the loft real quick, I forgot something, I'll be back down in a second." Michael went to the bathroom and finished the bottle under the sink. He washed his face and brushed his teeth again for the second time today. He was ready to go see his mom.

* * *

Sam dropped him off, "I'll see you later brother." "I'll see you Sam, thanks for everything." "No problem Mikey." For the first time in a long time, maybe even ever, he was looking forward to walking through the front door of his mother's house. "Hey mom."

"Michael!" Madeline came running over to greet and hug him. She almost knocked him down. He smiled and hugged her tight. "I thought I might never see you again Michael."

"I thought I might never see again too mom."

"Let me look at you, you're too skinny."

"I know mom."

"Do you want something to eat?"

"No, I just wanted to come by and let you know I'm o.k."

"Charlie, come here honey, your uncle Michael is here to see the picture that we take out every night?"

"We pway for Unkl Mike."

"That's right darling, well he is home now.

"Does he live here wit us now?"

"No honey."

"But you said he is home now." Madeline laughed, "I did honey, didn't I?" Charlie walked over to Michael and tugged on his pants. Michael got down to his eye level and said, "Hello Charlie."

"Hi, do you want to play wit me?" Before he could even answer Madeline reminded Charlie that he had a play date with his friend and they would be by any minute to pick him up. "Go get your backpack Charlie; your uncle Michael will be around for a while and you can see him again soon."

"O.k. Gwandma." The doorbell rang and Madeline helped Charlie out to the car. Michael was sitting at the table, "Wow! Mom, I can't believe how much Charlie looks like Nate when he was that age."

"I know, he's the spitting image of him."

"I missed you mom."

"Missed me? Hah! Come now Michael."

"No, mom, I'm serious."

"You never said that to me before Michael."

"Mom, I'm sorry I haven't been the ideal son, I know my life took a very different path than you probably ever imagined."

"Stop! You stop it right there Michael. It hasn't always been easy, but what in life worth a damn is? You have done more with your life than most people could ever dream of doing. Michael, you literally save people's lives and you sacrifice yourself over and over again to change the world for the better one fight at a time. I am so proud of you son!" Michael was on the verge of tears as Madeline leaned over and hugged him.

"It's good to be home mom" When Michael got ready to leave the house his mom gave him the keys to the Charger. "I'll be back in a few days. I have to get some things for the loft and I have a few meetings I have to deal with."

"Alright Michael, I'll see you soon."

* * *

Michael ran a few errands and got some supplies. He always knew he was going to quit drinking, he just needed the time and the place to detox, but after seeing Charlie, he knew there was no other choice but to get sober now. He couldn't let anything interfere with his mission. Charlie needed his grandma and it all rested on him finishing this mission.

It was his first night alone in his loft since he had been back. Everywhere he looked there were memories of Fi. He thought it was fitting that they were all burned and charred. It was a perfect image for how his life with her had ended. He wondered if she ever thought of him and their life together. Did she only think about him negatively? He hoped not. He wanted to call her and talk to her. He wanted to let her know he was back in Miami, but she had moved on with her life. He thought about Sonya too, she was so much like Fiona. He reminded himself that she was a means to an end; she would help him get to James. It was going to be even harder than working with Burke because oddly, in the short amount of time he was with her, he already had some kind of feelings for her.

Earlier that day he had stopped at one of his old storage lockers and picked up a couple of guns and some ammo. He laid out his kit and started cleaning some of them. When he was finished he started again out of boredom. Michael waited for the inevitable to come. After several hours had passed he began to feel his hands shaking. He knew it was about to start. While he was out, he had also picked up a few items he knew he would need when the time came.

_"When you are detoxing it's common to have side effects. Confusion, fatigue, nausea, fevers, sweating, shaking; headaches, high blood pressure, increased heart rate, and sometimes hallucinations. It's never easy to do it alone, but it is possible. You try to prepare as best you can. It's a good idea to have vitamin B and C, Calcium, magnesium, plenty of water, towels, and aspirin. Oh yeah, and you will want to keep a bucket handy. All of these things help, but nothing makes the process of detoxing easy. When you are committed to quitting, you except beforehand that it will be excruciatingly painful both physically and psychologically and depending on how bad your addiction is, it can take several days or weeks for the physical symptoms to pass."_

It had been several hours since the shaking began, he was sweating profusely and his head felt like it was going to explode. He took some aspirin and drank some water and put down some towels underneath him because the sweating had started. He had a fever, but he was freezing cold. He piled the two blankets he had on top of himself and wished he had a few more. Several more hours had gone by and the hallucinations began... "Michael come on we have to go." "I can't Fi, I'm sick."

"Come on Michael, hurry you have to get up everyone is depending on you, we have a job to do."

"Fiona I can't."

"If you don't come Charlie is going to die." Michael got up from the floor and headed to the door.

"Fiona? Where did you go?" He headed down the stairs and Sam was on his way up. "Michael I've tried to call you all day and you didn't answer your phone so I came by to check on you." Michael was sweating and he was as white as a sheet. "Where did Fiona go? Did you see her? She just came down the stairs." "Michael, Fiona wasn't here." Michael was coming out of the hallucination. "Sam, I…I need to go down stairs and get a drink." Sam stood directly in front of him to stop him from passing. "Sam you need to move!"

"Sorry Mike that ain't happening, we need to get you back up stairs."

"Sam I'm not kidding, I need a drink, look at me…just one drink."

"I don't think so Mike, you have to handle this brother! I'll help you get through this. There are people depending on you, Mike." Michael was screaming, "There are always people depending on me Sam! I'm tired of it; now get out of my way!"

"This isn't you brother, you're not your dad Mike, you have to kick this. Now turn around and get your ass upstairs!" Michael knew he had a decision to make, he could go back upstairs with Sam or face he was an alcoholic just like his father was…"Alright Sam, I'm going." Sam assured him that in a couple of days the worst of it would be over and he would be as good as new.

Michael slept for a little while and Sam called Elsa, he didn't give her any details, but he told her he would be helping Michael on a job for a couple of days. He didn't like lying to her, but he didn't want anyone to know what Michael was dealing with at the moment.

* * *

Michael was heaving and throwing up in the bucket beside him and he was burning up with fever. "That's alright buddy you're getting all that poison out of your system."

"Sam you should go, I can do this alone. You don't have to worr—"he started throwing up again. Sam felt so bad for him, he wished he could do something more to help his friend.

Later, Sam had someone deliver some soup and bread from the deli down the street. He was hoping to get some food into Michael's stomach. Sam put a cool rag on Michael's head and then took care of the bucket. Michael had saved his life more times than he could remember. He was his best friend and somehow over the years had become as close as a brother, there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for him. "Mike do you think you could eat something?"

"I don't think so Sam."

"Can you at least try the soup and try to get something down?" Michael took a couple of spoonful's of the broth and said that was all he could stand. Michael spent the next couple of days with Sam by his side. Every time he woke up Sam was there keeping him hydrated and making sure his heart rate didn't reach the danger zone.

The next time Michael got up from sleeping the shaking had stopped, and he was lucid. "How many days has it been Sam?"

"Three days."

"Sam, you look like shit."

"I guarantee you, I look better than I feel." They both started laughing.

"What can I say Sam? There are no words to thank someone for what you did for me."

"You being back to normal is all the thanks I need."

"Sam, go home and get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hey, you're probably gonna want to sleep at your mom's house or the hotel tonight. I'll throw away everything you were sleeping on while you go take a shower. You're going to have to get all new stuff."

"It will give me something to do. I'm not really going to be busy until Sonya calls me." Michael walked Sam down stairs. The sun was bright and hurt his head a little, but the fresh air felt good and for the first time in a long time he was actually hungry. He shook Sam's hand and sent him on his way.

* * *

After Michael grabbed some lunch he walked to the beach and sat in the sand. He passed the time there for a few hours, he couldn't bring himself to leave, it was so peaceful. He admired the stunning sunset as he watched the waves crash against the shore. It felt good to see the world through sober eyes again; he felt new life returning to him. The last time he sat in that spot Fiona was with him, and she had just been released from prison. He committed to memory how beautiful she looked running towards him in her white sun-dress. She squeezed him so tight and he lost himself in her. He remembered telling her that he needed her more than ever. He felt that way again today, but he knew this time she wouldn't be there.

Michael picked up a cooler so he could stash some yogurt, apples and beer for Sam. He knew it wasn't good for people to be around alcohol after having the problems that he had with it, but he was ready to put it behind him. He knew sometime in the future he would be in situations while undercover that would involve him drinking alcohol and he was either done with excessive drinking or he wasn't. He never wanted to go through what he had just experienced ever again. Michael knew he was stronger now than he had been when he was in the Dominican Republic, and he no longer had to play the down and out boozer ex-operative. He was in, he had rescued Sonya.

* * *

Three weeks had passed since Sonya left and he still hadn't heard from her. He hoped that she was recovering from her injuries. He didn't want to admit it, but he missed her. Strong was getting anxious about the lack of contact, but Michael assured him that she would be in touch soon. Michael used the last few weeks to get to know Charlie, and he even managed to get a couple of basketball games in with Jesse and Sam.

Fiona was the white elephant in the room that never got mentioned, but finally Michael broke down and asked them how she was doing. Jesse said, "Look Mike, it is straight up stupid that the two of you aren't together, but she seems to be getting pretty serious with Carlos. They work together, and I think you have to prepare yourself, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but after talking with Carlos, I think he is going to ask her to marry him soon. Michael said, "Of course he is. Why wouldn't he? She's perfect. She deserves to finally be happy, she waited for me for a long time and I blew it."

* * *

A month had passed since Michael returned to Miami and Sonya finally called. "Hello Michael Westen."

"Hi Sonya, I was beginning to wonder if I would ever hear from you again. How are you feeling?"

"Almost as good as new. I have great news, I found out that it was a hacker syndicate called the Collective that had me up on the auction block and I'm going to need your help to take them down. Is it o.k. if I come over?"

"Of course."

"I will be there in about an hour."

"See you then."

Michael was surprised at how excited he was to see Sonya again. He thought it was ridiculous, and reminded himself that she was a means to an end. Someday he was going to have to betray her.

Sonya knocked on the door and Michael opened it. She smiled and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. He returned the kiss. "Come on in."

"Thank you."

"Wow! You look great Sonya, you're a fast healer." He swept his thumb across her cheek and then tilted her face up as if to get a better look. Your lip healed nicely, and your eye just has a little bruising left. You must be taking your vitamins." She laughed.

"And you must be taking yours too Michael Westen, you look like a new man. It must be Miami, it agrees with you!"

"Can I get you something to drink ?"

"No thanks, I see you added a few things, new chairs and a cooler. I have to meet your decorator." She said mockingly.

"He's really very good, he has wonderful taste." They both laughed.

"The truth is Michael, I just wanted to stop by and tell you in person thank you for taking such good care of me when I was such a mess."

"You didn't have to do that, but I'm glad you came by. You said we were going after the hacker syndicate?"

"Yes, we are. You and I are going to have lunch at a restaurant downtown, I will send you the address and time, and make sure you dress nice. I have to run, I will see you tomorrow."

"O.k. then, I guess I will see you tomorrow." Michael was a little disappointed that Sonya had left just as quickly as she had come.

* * *

Michael showed up at the restaurant dressed in a suite and greeted Sonya at the table where she was waiting for him. "You clean up nice."

"Not so bad yourself.

"Nice place, it's a bit fancy for a planning meeting."

"Who said we are planning? This is step one in the operation."

There was a man who was a software developer having lunch at the same restaurant. He was carrying a computer virus that he developed for the DOD. It was Michael and Sonya's job to steal it.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know. My instructions were to be here at 1:00 and to be ready."

"How can we be ready if we don't know who the target is?"

"There will be a medical emergency, you will be a doctor and I will be your wife." Sonya explained to Michael that everything was kept compartmentalized because it was cleaner that way. They just had to have faith that each person was doing their job. She handed him a badge and slid him a doctor's bag under the table. When a man started to convulse, they both went to his aid. Sonya swiped the thumb drive and Michael injected him with an antidote to counteract whatever had been given to him to cause the seizure to begin with. Now Sonya had what she needed to take down the syndicate

* * *

Strong had informed Michael that he would be using Fiona as an asset until Michael was through with this mission. Michael insisted that he leave Fiona out of it, but Strong was impressed with how she handled the kidnapping of the Russian diplomat that helped Michael save his cover and he assured Michael that he was not going to waste a talented asset like Fiona while there was still so much work to be done. Andrew Strong was a determined man and since Fiona, Jesse, and Sam were already read in; he was willing to force them to work with Michael until the mission was completed.

Sonya, Jesse, Sam and Michael were at the loft getting ready to thrash out details of destroying the Collective. Fiona stopped by to discuss with Michael the fact that Strong was forcing her to help him. When Fiona walked in on them she knew who Sonya was right away. She smiled and politely said hello, but inwardly she instantly hated her.

Sonya knew Fiona was the woman who helped Michael get her out of the black site in Cuba, but once she saw her hair, she knew she was also the woman who Michael had been in love with. She was beautiful, but she was the complete opposite of everything she had pictured his girlfriend being. She smiled politely and said hello back, and Sonya even thanked her for being such a big help in her rescue. Inwardly she thought about how much she already hated her.

Fiona sat at the table and said, "I'm in." Sonya wasn't happy about it, but she knew that she would not be able to get near the Collective herself because they already knew who she was, and what she looked like, and this take down would need at least two people on the inside. "I'm happy to have you on the team Fiona, Michael speaks so highly of you." Sonya thought to herself he just forgot to mention you were the same woman who had snow globes in his loft….

* * *

Fiona loved Michael and she knew she always would. Her heart was broken when she found out that Michael went back to work for the CIA. Never in a million years would she have left him if he had told her the truth about why he did it. When Michael left for the Dominican Republic as far as she knew, it was to go on a mission. She had no idea he had to leave to save them all from being put back into prison again. When Michael left she had tried to put the pieces of her broken and shattered life back together.

Fiona picked up work as a bounty hunter, and that's where she met Carlos. Her impulsive nature and her desire to "get back" at Michael had driven her into the arms of another man. At the time she didn't care whose arms they were, she had a primal need to injure Michael the way he had ripped apart her heart and injured her. After months of not hearing from Michael, she figured he took off again, the way he had done the first time he left her in Ireland. She wanted him back desperately, but she would never allow herself to be fooled again into thinking that Michael cared more for her then the job, it was always the damn job!

Carlos in his own right was exciting and passionate, he would never be Michael, but then she knew no one would ever be what Michael had been to her. He was like a drug that she could never get enough of. She was sick to death of being addicted to him. She knew she was a strong, capable, intelligent, beautiful woman, but when it came to Michael she was weak, and she would follow him to the ends of the earth, but no more! She refused to do it any longer! She had too much to offer to be someone's second place, even if it was second fiddle to a job.

Carlos adored Fiona and he spent all of his time making sure that she was happy. She was trying to have some normalcy in her life. Normal was even a little exciting to her. She never had anything normal in her entire life not even as a child. Carlos liked to take her out to dinner and dancing. He loved to go to movies, and art shows, and hang out at the beach. He liked to surprise her with fresh flowers because he knew how much she liked them in the house. Everything in their lives didn't revolve around work. Carlos appreciated Fiona for more than being able to handle a gun or being the fastest getaway driver. They decided pretty early in the relationship to move in together. Fiona enjoyed making a home for the both of them. She wanted to settle in one place and make some roots for the first time in her life.

Fiona knew she cared very deeply for Carlos, and maybe even loved him; but in the quiet moments when she was by herself or when he was sleeping beside her, she would sometimes think of Michael. They had shared so much of their lives together, but did she ever really know him? Carlos was always open and honest, and he was so good at communicating what he was thinking and feeling to her. She never had to guess where his head was at. Michael had never seemed to be able to do that very well; but there were others ways Michael would show his love for her, simple ways. He would sometimes wash her hair, and when no one was around he would sing along with the radio to a song that might explain just how he was feeling at the moment. He would surprise her with a new gun or wake up early on a Saturday morning and make her breakfast before taking her to the shooting range. Fiona laughed to herself. He would never admit it to anyone, and he would deny it to his last breath, but sometimes he would even paint her toes for her. They had an undeniable chemistry. Michael understood her in a way no other man could. His kisses sent her reeling to another world, his touches made her skin burn with unbridled ecstasy. He knew how to awaken something primal in her. His spell would never be fully severed and that's why she had to work so hard at making a new life for herself.

* * *

Michael and Fiona met at the club where they were planning to convince Cody Ward, a talent scout, for the hacker Syndicate that they needed to hire them for their genius hacking skills. This was the very same syndicate that sold Sonya's information to the Russians which in turn led to her capture and torture before being rescued by Michael from the black site in Cuba.

When Michael first saw Fiona arrive, he thought she looked amazing, and he wanted to tell her, but the words wouldn't come. Every time she looked at him it was with eyes full of regret. He missed having a connection with her. Michael wanted things to be different, he wanted things back the way they were before Fi had left him, before she had moved on with her life with that idiot, Carlos. Michael thought that he could be happy for her because he loved her, but he was wrong. He didn't want her to be happy without him, and he couldn't stand that tattooed, wannabe she was living with either. He knew it was wrong to be so twisted about it, and he hoped someday that they could get past their hurt, and at least salvage their friendship. After all, they had moved heaven and earth to be together after Fi was in prison. Looking back he would've never imagined that she could have ended up with someone that wasn't him.

The music was thumping and loud, and there were people everywhere. "It's good to see you Fi, She just looked at him and didn't say anything. You're Priscilla, a system's expert trained at Cal Tech. I'm Mark Fincher, a code breaker from San Francisco." He couldn't read Fiona's face…he had always been able to read Fiona's face. "Look Fi, you can still walk away from this."

"What the hell are you talking about Michael? The meeting is set, Cody is waiting for us."

"I can say you got sick. I can go in alone; you don't have to do this." He didn't want her sucked back into his chaotic world; he knew how much pain and hurt it had caused her already. The last thing he wanted was for Fi to resent him even more.

"I have to do this,"

"What does that even mean, why?"

"I can't owe my freedom to you Michael, I just can't". Fiona cut him to the core, she knew it was a low blow, but she was still fuming over Sonya. It didn't go unnoticed by Fiona how much Sonya didn't like her. Sonya could welcome her to the team all she wanted, but she knew a fake smile when she saw one. She knew that bitch was into Michael; any woman with half a brain could see that. Fiona hated that Michael was working with Sonya. She was beautiful, and from what she heard about her, she was an ace operative too. Fiona always loved that she could handle herself, and Michael loved it too. Her jealousy over Sonya's abilities reared its ugly head, especially when she figured out Sonya was more than just a rescue to Michael. She was used to being the only female bad ass around, and she liked it that way. Michael had depended on her for so much, he admired her skills and her knowledge in weapons, and explosives, and her ability to thrive under pressure using counter-measures. The list could go on and on, he trusted her, and he respected her, they were a great team. Fiona didn't want him sharing that with any other woman.

When Jesse had mentioned to Fiona that Michael took Sonya back to **their** **loft** when they came back from Cuba, Fiona wanted to claw his eyes out. "Their loft? That was **OUR** home for goodness sakes!" she thought to herself. She knew Sonya was the kind of woman Michael could actually be attracted too. Sam told her how badly the Russian's had worked her over and tortured her. Michael always had a soft spot for injured women. On more than one occasion that weakness had clouded his judgment, and got him in trouble on the job. Fiona knew because of what Michael's father had done to his mother that he could never turn down helping an abused woman. Even if she was playing him... Why did she even care anymore? She was with Carlos now, she had already settled it, she wasn't going back to being second in Michael's life…yet she couldn't help the way she felt.

A part of her really meant it when she said, "she couldn't owe her freedom to him," she didn't need another reason to love him, and that wasn't her only motivation for being there tonight. She hated herself for feeling this way, but as time had passed she found herself wanting to work with Michael again. She protested of course when Strong was forcing her to join the team for this mission, but she couldn't just come out and tell Carlos she missed working with Michael; and if she was being completely honest with herself, she wanted to keep tabs on Sonya too, she didn't trust her. Was it possible to love two men at once? She didn't know the answer to that question, but meeting Sonya made one thing clear, she wasn't yet completely ready to let go of Michael.

Michael felt the stab of Fiona's jab. Her words cut him deep. She didn't want to owe him her freedom? What the hell did that mean anyway? Did she have to be so cruel? Did she hate him so much now that she didn't care how much she hurt him anymore? He followed her up the stairs, he wanted to say something, but the mission came first and they were already in "play".

They met with Cody who was an egotistical, sleaze. Michael's cover involved being a bit of egomaniac himself with a big, heaping side of OCD. Fiona's cover had a punky edge with a flirty disposition. She was Michael's colleague and "handler" so to speak. She would "help" him stay focused while working. Their target was getting ready to leave, he was clearly unimpressed with the both of them, but Fiona used her feminine persuasion to get him to stay.

"So are you guys like a couple?"

Fiona answered, "Us? No, it's strictly professional. I handle web defense protocol, and Mark is a genius at decryption."

Cody was looking over some of their files, "Tell me if you're so good why are you looking for a job?"

Michael laughed, A job? I had three patents by the time I was thirty! I don't need a job, I need protection. We had a close call in San Francisco and we're not taking any chances. From what we hear, your security is top-notch."

"It is, but the thing is we have a full roster of hackers right now and we're not hiring."

"You say you have hackers?" Michael laughed, "You don't know what the word means! While we're booting up, I want you to pick a target, anything at all."

"Like a bank?"

"A bank? Please, give me something hard. O.k. I'll pick for you, how about the power company right here, right now!"

"Yeah right, the power grid is protected by Home Land Security. You're wasting my time!"

Michael and Fiona used a program that Barry got for them to fool Cody into believing they were hacking the power company. Sam, Jesse and Sonya were waiting at the substation to manually turn off the power when given the cue from Fiona. Cody was just about to give up on believing they could do the kind of job that would involve bypassing Homeland Security when all of a sudden the power went off at the club. In the meantime, Sam and the team were risking being caught by the police after setting off an alarm at the substation. Time was quickly running out, but Sonya refused to let anyone leave until Fiona gave the o.k. to turn the power back on. She would not accept anything less than total success.

Once the power was restored to the club, Cody believed that Michael and Fiona were the real deal, and every bit as good as they claimed to be. Michael and Fiona pulled it off with the help of the team, and it earned them a meeting with his boss, Jack Frakes. Their plan was to get into the syndicate as employees so they could gather intel on the Collective's security measures. They needed a strategy to get the virus Sonya wanted them to download into the Collective's mainframe without being detected, and this was the only way to do it.

* * *

Jack Frakes had done some research before "Priscilla and Mark" came in for their interview. He had a hard time believing that no one from the hacker boards had ever heard of either one of them. After being questioned by Jack about it, Fiona and Michael explained that they made it their business to make sure no one heard of them because of the trouble they had on the last job they did.

They both explained to Jack that everyone from their last gig had been executed and they wanted protection. They told Jack when they came back from lunch on their last job, they walked into a room full of people who had their hands hacked off and left on their key boards. The mob made it clear, this is what happens to hackers that want to steal their information. Jack was convinced by story and agreed to give them protection and a job. Michael wanted assurances that they would be safe, so Jack showed Michael and Fiona all of his security measures.

* * *

Sonya met Michael and Fiona at the loft to discuss how they were going to enter the room that held the server and plant the virus. Michael told Sonya that there was no way they could beat their security measures because they were air tight. Sonya wasn't happy and wanted to know how Michael was going to make it happen, because failure was not an option in the organization she worked for. He had an idea that if they could tap into their video feed from an outside wall, they could control what security would see. If they could do that, then they could possibly get it done. Sonya questioned him about how he was going tap into the feed from the eighth floor. Fiona said they could reach it from the roof. Michael told Sonya that they would handle it, if he could get a high bandwidth video transmitter to override their signal. Sonya asked him, "Where are you going to get one?"

"Oh I'm sure you could make arrangements." Michael was standing behind Fiona and couldn't see her face, but she was looking at Sonya with a challenge in her eyes, as if to say, "yeah, bitch, get it! If you can?" Sonya saw that smug look, and assured them both she could have it for them the next day. Secretly, Fiona was hoping she wouldn't be able to pull it off. Secretly, Sonya wanted to slap that look right off of Fiona's face.

* * *

The next day Michael and Fiona made their way to the roof while faking a smoking break. They didn't have much time to scale down to the eighth floor, they would have to be quick. Sonya was monitoring them from across the street and watching them with binoculars. She would let them know when she got the video feed they were tapping into.

Fiona heard the metal snap and felt the line she was tethered to slip. She screamed out Michael's name knowing she was plunging to her own death. Michael yelled out her name..._Fiionnna_...and just before she slipped past his reach, he caught her by the arm. She felt the jarring pull of his iron grip all the way to the top of her shoulder-blade, she thought it was going to pop out of its socket. She looked up at Michael with fear in her eyes, and saw his determination to save her. How many times had he been the bridge between her life and death? How many times had he refused to give up on her even when all had seemed lost? She used every bit of her upper body strength to climb onto Michael' back. She wrapped her legs and arms around his torso, and laid her head on the crook of his neck.

Neither one of them said anything while he slowly climbed their way to the top of the roof. It had been over a year since she was that close to him. His scent was deliciously recognizable and brought back a flood of memories to her mind. She thought about the first time they met, the first time they kissed, and the first time they had made love. She quietly breathed in the familiarity of him, and was thankful to be alive. Like a dam that had burst opened she was rushed with a torrent of feelings for Michael.

When they reached the top of the building they momentarily held on to each other. The possibility of what almost happened sent her head spinning or maybe it was being so close to him, she didn't really know. For a moment it almost seemed as if he felt the same way. She wanted him to say something, to tell her that he loved her, to grab her into himself and never let her go. She wanted him to say that he needed her, that he would forgive her for being with Carlos, and kiss her over and over again. When he said nothing, she figured it was all too late. She had hurt him too badly, he would never forgive her for giving up on them, and now there was Sonya.

It all happened so fast. When he released her from his embrace, she quickly shook off the need for him, and she told herself it was over. When this job was done, she would never work with him again. It was too much, it was too painful. She wanted to cry, but she pulled herself together. She knew Sonya was still listening and watching, and she couldn't bear to let Sonya or Michael see her exposed and weak. She hurriedly walked back towards the building.

* * *

Michael heard the metal snap and saw Fiona slipping past him. He reached out for her just in time, he had almost lost her once again. He saw the desperate look of fear in her eyes, and he knew he wouldn't let her go. He used all of his strength to stop her fall, he felt his wrist slipping out-of-place, but no matter what, he would never let her go, he held on with pure will.

He was glad she was strong enough to climb her way to the top of his back. When he felt her wrap herself around his body, he was jolted by a flood of memories. Like a life flashing before the eyes of a dying person, every moment he ever spent with Fiona played out like a movie on high-speed, fast-forward. From the time they first met to the moment he caught her in his grasp. He loved her with all of his being, why couldn't she see that? Why couldn't she forgive him? They belonged together!

When he reached the top of the building for a brief moment she lingered in his arms. He wanted her to stay there forever. He wanted to look into her eyes and tell her when this job was done, when he brought down Sonya's organization things would be different, but he knew Sonya was still on coms. When he let her go, the connection he thought he felt between them seemed to disappear. All he could feel now was the wall between them, she had a fortress around her heart that he could no longer penetrate. What he thought could have been feelings for him was obviously just gratefulness for narrowly escaping death. She quickly headed back towards the building.

* * *

Sonya saw the whole interaction between them. She was fascinated by their relationship, and hoped to someday be on the receiving end of Michael's love and desire. She never met men in her line of work that she respected or trusted because she was always going after a target. Michael was the first person she considered her equal, besides James. She loved James, he was like a father to her, but Michael was someone she could fall for, maybe even love, and she had never been able to say that before. If he could fall in love with her, she could use that to her advantage. She wanted Michael, and she wanted him in her organization too.

Sonya met Michael at his loft to discuss getting the virus into the Collective's main frame. Everything was in place, luckily Michael and Fiona were able to hijack the video feed before Fiona's fall. Sonya let Michael know that there was one thing keeping them from completing the mission. When Michael asked her what that was, she told him it was Cody.

"Cody never leaves the hackers alone for more than a few minutes at a time. You are going to need at least twenty to get into the server room and download the virus."

"Fiona could entice Cody away from the building because he hits on her every time he sees her."

"Aren't you going to have a problem with Fiona using her charms to lure Cody away?"

"No, why would you think that?"

"It wasn't hard to figure out that she was your girlfriend." She picked up one of the burned snow globes from the shelf, "I didn't figure you were the type to collect snow globes."

Michael's voice changed, it was somber now. "It was a long time ago and now our relationship is strictly professional."

Sonya asked him with deep sincerity, "was it nice?"

"What?"

"Being with someone? I always wondered what it would be like to have a personal life as well as a professional one." Michael heard such vulnerability in her in her voice and saw such sadness in her eyes. He walked closer to her and took the snow globe from her hand and stared at it for a moment.

"I'm not sure I ever had that really...trying too causes a lot of pain."

"Was it worth it?"

"Honestly I don't know." He was close enough to kiss her and she thought he was going too, but at the last moment he turned around and waked away. He told her, "call me when you're in position."

Disappointed she said, "okay."

* * *

Michael and Fiona were at the building waiting for Sonya to let them know when Cody was on his way. It was Fiona's job to get Cody to leave with her when he arrived. When Cody came in, Fiona told him, "I need a break from "Mark" because he is driving me crazy!" All it took for him to abandon his post was for Fiona to flirt a little, and run her hand slowly up his thigh. He gladly left with her to grab some drinks.

Sonya took control of the building's cameras and looped them so Michael could get to the server room, and plant the virus undetected. Frakes checked in with security and asked where Cody was, and security let him know that he left with the "new chick". Frakes was concerned about the quality of the video feed he was seeing on the monitors and wanted it checked out.

Sonya let Michael know that Frakes was asking questions, and was on his way to check out the problem for himself. Michael instructed Sonya to turn the video feed back to live time. Frakes saw Michael leaving the hallway that was close to the server area and wanted to know what he was doing there. When Frakes confronted him, Michael played it off as if he were just using the bathroom. Frakes knew something wasn't right and wanted to see the progress of the work that Michael was supposedly doing for him. Michael knew he was in trouble because he didn't have the skill set to produce any real or actual results.

Sonya quickly called Sam and Jesse in to help with the situation. Sonya and Sam wanted to go in with guns blazing because Frakes had a gun on Michael, but Jesse had an idea that he hoped would keep Michael and everyone else to stay alive and safe.

Sam and Jesse posed as cops to Cody at the restaurant where Fiona and him were having lunch. They made it look like the police were about to bust the organization Cody worked for. They told him the only way he could stay out of jail was to help them with getting some evidence. They scared Cody into believing they had a warrant and had been investigating them for over year. Sonya gave Jesse some video footage they had of Cody working in his building to sell the story. They convinced Cody to help them plant the virus in the main frame of the server room and in turn he wouldn't see any jail time. Cody didn't know it was a virus at the time and thought he was just downloading some information that they needed for their case.

In the meantime Fiona came back into the room where Frakes was holding Michael at gun point. She told Frakes that Cody was talking to the cops, and when she did that, Frakes back-handed her mouth, and called her a lying bitch. Blood was dripping from her lips, and Michael was about to stand up and blow his cover. He wasn't going to sit by and let Fiona get hurt, but she waved him off with a look, she wanted to play it out. She knew she could convince Frakes that Cody was with the police. When Fiona was done spinning her magic, Frakes radioed his security and asked for a location on Cody. He was told that he was in the server room, and had been there for about thirty minutes.

Frakes ordered his people to bring Michael and Fiona to the server room with him. When Frakes got there, Cody tried to convince him he was just updating some personnel files. Michael said, "excuse me, but since when do personnel files send updates to a remote server, and then delete them?" Michael convinced Frakes that the police were already in his system and that's why he couldn't hack it for him. Eventually Frakes let Michael and Fiona go, and they both got out safe, the mission was completed, However, it didn't fare so well for Cody, Frakes killed him on the spot. In the end Sonya got what she wanted and she was able to destroy the syndicate that sold her to the Russians.

* * *

Michael spoke to Fiona when the mission was over, "Fi I know you didn't want to do this, and that this job was forced on you, but you were great."

"working together was never our problem."

"You know one day all this stuff with Sonya, the CIA...all of it, it will be over."

"Michael it's already over!" Fiona left Michael sitting there alone. He didn't really feel the time passing, he must have been there for a couple of hours. It was dark now, and the Florida weather had changed quickly. What started out as a bright, warm, sunny, day turned into a wet evening. "I finally got it through my thick head," he told himself. "As much as I wanted to believe Fi would eventually come back to me, it's never going to happen. I saw it in her eyes today, she's different." He thought about the girl in Ireland that started out as an asset. At the time he had lied about who he was, and had manipulated her to meet his own agenda. She was a woman now, he had realized he loved her very quickly after meeting her under his cover as Michael McBride in Ireland. When his superior at the time found he was sleeping with an IRA asset, Michael had put his entire career on the line, but he didn't care.

He knew at one time she would have followed him to the ends of the earth. He had disappointed her one too many times, there had been too many broken promises. He finally realized that he missed his opportunity, and now she was with Carlos.

* * *

"Michael it's already over!" Fiona quickly walked away before he saw what his back-handed compliment had done to her. "I was great?" she said to herself through the tears that were now streaming down her face. She got in her car and sped down the causeway. She was driving but had no idea where she was going. "How could he look at me like that, with no emotion? I thought I meant so much to him, but all I am is someone who is good at A JOB! Where did our friendship go? He was already talking about the day we wouldn't have to work together!" She blurted out loud while sobbing now.

She had loved him since the day they first met, and Michael asked her to dance. She knew him as Michael McBride then. The electricity that stormed between them was tangible, and she knew from that moment her life would never be the same. Sometimes she wondered if it was McBride that she was still in love with, but deep down, she knew that wasn't true. It may have started out that way, but it was Michael Westen that she wanted. "You know one day all this stuff with Sonya, the CIA all of it, it will be over." Did he really think she could work with him until then, until it was OVER? She could hardly see the road ahead of her, her eyes were stinging from the black mascara now running down her cheeks. It was cruel of him, her heart ached for his touch. Couldn't he see the longing in her eyes? Her words may have said other wise, but he had always been able to read her...a part of her was glad that if he did know how she really felt, that he didn't say anything to her about it, it helped her to at least keep _some_ of her dignity. If she could turn back the hands of time, she never would've moved in with Carlos, or helped Michael rescue that dreadful Sonya, but she couldn't, and now Michael had moved on without her.

* * *

The night sky cracked with electricity and loudly beat with drums of thunder. Michael walked home in the pouring rain from the restaurant where he had spent the last few hours contemplating what he was about to do. He had purposely held himself back from Sonya, dismissing the feelings that were beginning to develop between them. He couldn't betray the love he had for Fiona, but today she had made it clear she was done with him once and for all. Several times in his past he had been forced to manipulate women for the sake of a mission, it was never pleasant, and this wasn't any different now, but his friends and family deserved to be free, and it was time to take things to the next level.

He knew Sonya liked him, they had almost kissed the other day in his loft when she was asking questions about Fiona, but he walked away. The few times they had been alone, Sonya revealed a vulnerability that he was sure no one else had ever been privy to. He knew she desired to experience a "real" relationship. A spy should never expose their need for anything...he knew with the betrayal that would inevitably come his actions would scar them both. His decision to bed Sonya wasn't an easy one, but it was the fastest way into the organization she was a part of. Sonya was an excellent operative, and she would be able to see through a lie, he gave himself permission to let things flow naturally between them, and he would use her desires to further his agenda.

Michael was soaking wet when he walked through the door of his loft. Sonya said, "It's really coming down hah?" Michael shook his head yes. He stood in the door way staring at Sonya typing away on her lap top, "Look at this, we got a lot more from the hackers than we expected," she said.

"We can talk about that later." Michael shut the door, "I...I want a seat at the table Sonya, I've been working for you people long enough, I want to meet the man in charge." Sonya closed her lap top, "I had a feeling this was coming."

"I've earned it."

"I know you think that's what you want Michael, but this organization isn't just a job."

"I know what it's like to work for you and Burke, I know what it is." he walked closer to her.

"You don't, not really. To be with us you have to be willing to make sacrifices, extreme sacrifices."

Michael picked up one of Fi's burnt snow globes. "Sacrifice, I know sacrifice, I can handle it."

"I'm not talking about your training... to do what we do,you have to be willing to give up everything! I went straight from the GRU to this. This is the ONLY life I know." Michael looked around the burnt loft surveying the metaphor for all that he had lost. "I never had a chance for friends...or a family. Don't throw them away lightly." Michael hurled the snow globe against the wall.

"I've GIVEN UP EVERYTHING! LOOK AT THIS PLACE! I HAVE NOTHING! My friends they've moved on, built new lives without me. I look in their eyes and all I see is pity." Michael kneeled down in front of Sonya, "My brother is dead, my mother will never forgive me for getting him killed." Tears were running down his face. "This thing that you're a part of," he said looking into Sonya's eyes, "You're the only thing that I have left." Sonya lost herself in his pain,

"That's one thing we have in common." Michael grabbed the back of her head and kissed her with forceful desperation. Sonya leaned into him and devoured each one of his kisses. She knew she had him now, she surrendered herself to the pleasure of her mission, to recruit Michael Westen for James Kendrick by any means necessary.

* * *

Michael needed Sonya tonight, he was tired of feeling miserable and rejected. He let Sonya comfort him from the blow of Fiona's declaration that it was over. He knew Sonya needed him too, and after tonight there was no going back.

"_For spies there's no separating your work life from your personal one. Sometimes it's hard to understand even your own true motives if you're doing things for yourself, or the good of the operation. It's a cold reality that most of the people you love will never understand, but the truth is, at a certain point it doesn't matter what your real motives are, because once you made a choice in the field you can never take it back." _ He knew Sonya would lead him straight to James Kendrick, feelings or no feelings, she was his means to an end. Lying next to her while she slept, he wondered what kind of man he had become, but before he could finish contemplating the depths of that question sleep had overpowered him.

The next morning Michael woke up to the sound of Sonya leaving the loft. He sat up in bed still tangled in the sheet from last night's encounter. It had been profoundly tender, and extremely passionate. He knew their night together had served his purposes, and he thought Sonya deserved better than what was coming. "So?" Michael said.

"I'll make the call" replied Sonya. Michael knew he was in, and hoped that it would all be over soon.

* * *

Michael texted Fiona to meet him. He didn't think she would show up, but he did it anyway. He had a compelling need to tell Fiona what he had done last night. His reasons? Well, he was still sorting that out while standing on the dock overlooking the water.

"_In a long-term undercover job the most difficult challenges aren't professional they're personal. You have to try to remember where the line is between who you need to be and who you really are, because when that line starts to blur it effects everyone around you. _

Fiona thought she was through with Michael, but one text to meet him, and her resolve to stay away crumbled like a house of cards. She wondered what he wanted to talk about. Did he need help on another job? Was it something more personal? The smallest part of her was clinging to the hope that he might tell her to come back to him, she tried not to get her hopes up.

"Hey," Fiona said. Michael turned around and returned the greeting,

"Hey, thanks for coming." Looking at her now standing there on the dock, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever known. The anger that he had from yesterday's good-bye started draining away the moment he looked into her eyes. Why had he asked her here? Was it to let her know about Sonya so there were no more lies between them, or had he brought her here to hurt her as bad as she had hurt him? Was he being noble or just a cruel ex-lover?

It didn't matter what his reasons were now because Fiona came and was standing there in front of him. "What was so urgent that I had to run out in the middle of a job?"

Michael was wondering to himself if there was a good answer to that question. He could have told her later if he had to even tell her at all. "There are things I think you need to know that I didn't think could wait." Fiona had a slight smile on her face. She thought the words that she had been waiting to hear were finally going to come.

"Here I am," she said with a twinkle in her eye.

"This mission... getting in with the organization, I have a lot riding on it."

"I know, we all do." So here I am again, she thought to herself, at Michael's beck and call. This is going to be about another job, I can just feel it... damn it!.

"Sometimes it's not easy knowing how far to go to build trust. The D.R., Cuba, here...there are things I've done, choices I had to make...Michael couldn't even look at her while he was explaining. Fiona sighed at looked away, she didn't know if she was ready to hear what Michael had to tell her. "Last night Sonya and I..." Fiona turned her gaze towards him, that was the last thing she had expected to hear from him. She thought lying to her maybe, or killing someone for the mission, but this...SONYA?

"Fi."

"Why are you telling me this Michael?"

"I've asked so much of you already, I couldn't ask for you to be part of this operation without you knowing everything."

"Are you worried about the operation or are you asking whether it's o.k. for you to sleep with the enemy? I mean she still is the enemy right?"

"The mission hasn't changed."

"Yeah,"

"Yes! the meeting with the head of her organization will happen soon."

"Your playing with fire, but you know that." Fiona looked at him with such heartbreak and disgust and walked away. Michael knew she was right but what was done, was done, and he knew he was one step closer to meeting the man in charge.

* * *

Michael was back at the loft writing down his entire life's history on yellow legal note pads. It was part of the requirement for meeting James.

_"For a spy preparing a job history is a lot more complicated than updating a resume. Because official files are classified you have to write a detailed account of your entire career. An account that will be checked and rechecked for even the slightest deception. If you can keep your facts straight you will be fine, if you can't you might not live through the process." _

It had taken an entire weekend to write everything down and recalling so many years of one's life was draining. Making sure that all the facts were meticulously covered was harder than one might think. Keeping only the facts that he wanted James to know meant that he had to be at the top of his game. Sonya made it very clear there was no room for error. He was just about finished when Sonya came in.

"Did you finish your homework?" "Almost done just making sure it's complete."

"Complete is important, everything needs to be in there."

"Yeah, about that, do I mention last night?"

"Everything means everything, I may catch some heat for it, but the rule is, you kiss...you tell."

"_In any infiltration becoming comfortable with your target is a crucial part of getting information. You want them feeling secure so your eventual betrayal will come as a total surprise."_

_"_So, you said I'm going to meet the head of your organization_." _Sonya snuggled behind Michael.

"Are you going to tell me where I'm going or when I'm supposed to be there?"

"She cuddled even closer to him, "We'll handle it," she said nuzzling his neck, and then she zapped him with a taser gun.

_"Of course that assumes they don't surprise you first!"_

Michael felt the sting of the taser. "_Having volts run through your body is never fun. You feel like someone hi-jacked your nervous system. Stun Guns use high voltage and low amperage to temporarily disable an attacker for several minutes. The stun gun also interrupts the tiny neurological impulses that control and direct voluntary muscle movement. When the attacker's neuromuscular system is overwhelmed and controlled by the stun gun, he loses his balance."_

Michael couldn't believe that Sonya tased him. She played him, and he wasn't expecting it. Unable to move, Sonya's men joined her, they handcuffed and blind folded Michael. Michael was upset with himself, why had he allowed himself to trust Sonya? His feelings had got in the way of the job... but deep down he knew it was more than just liking Sonya that had caused this unfortunate turn of events. He let his guard down, and he knew his resentment toward Fi had played a big part in getting so close to Sonya. He never would have slept with her to get to James if Fiona was still in love with him. He couldn't help but laugh to himself, besides that, Fi would have killed him if he used sex to get to Sonya's boss. Fiona's temper was something you didn't mess with.

This whole time he was preparing himself to betray Sonya, and he actually felt bad about it too. He felt like such an idiot because he never saw it coming, that she was using him. He thought he had the upper hand with Sonya, she seemed to have real feelings for him. Sam and Jesse had warned him about her, they said she was good, the best. He didn't believe it when they told him she was like a female version of himself.

They hadn't killed him yet, so that was a plus. If Sonya wanted him dead he would already be dead, unless she was keeping him alive for information. Maybe her organization had penetrated Strong's circle at the CIA, maybe someone gave him up. There was no sense in second guessing what the maybes might be, so he surrendered to the process of whatever was going to happen would happen. Just about then he felt a needle prick his neck and then there was darkness.

* * *

Michael woke up in a chair, he had no idea where he was, or how long he had been out of it. He was still blind folded, but his hands were now free. He took the blind fold off, and was surprised to see such a grand room. The room smelled a little dusty, and the furniture was covered in white sheets. He could see from the legs sticking out from underneath their coverings, and the few pieces that weren't covered, that this room was filled with priceless antiques.

The massive fire place was impressive, he tried to get an idea about where he might be by observing the foliage growing outside the colossal windows he was looking through. He stood up from the chair, and immediately two men walked into the room with guns pointed at him, and they told him to sit back down. "Is someone coming to see me? Where is Sonya?" The men were silent. A man walked into the room, "Michael Alan Westen, welcome. My apologies for the travel arrangements."

"Yeah, I would've been willing to come here without the 50,000 volts running through my body, and what ever drug you stuck me with." He said with obvious irritation.

"Necessary precautions, you understand."

"Well, I'm trying too, and you are?"

"I am the man you have been waiting to meet."

"Do I get a name?" This time his voice sounded like he was annoyed.

"One day...perhaps, but we're not here to talk about me. We are here...to talk about you."

"Is that really necessary? Everything you already want to know is in the notes your holding in your hand."

"Not everything, but it is a start." Michael heard a southern accent that had the hint of wealth wrapped around it, old money maybe.

"Shall we begin?" Michael knew it was a rhetorical question. "What is your full name?"

"Michael feigned exasperation, "you already know my name, seriously, this is a waste of time!" he sounded agitated.

"We have all the time in the world to get this right." James looked Michael in the eyes and was unflinching in his tone and determination. He knew this man was not one to be crossed. Michael changed his voice from annoyance to conviction. "I proved what I'm willing to do, with Burke, with Sonya, that should count for something!"

"You proved your skills, and that only gets you in this room, this is where we go deeper than your skills. This is where you and I together...we learn if you are the man you say you are. Now, what is your full name?" Michael took a deep breath, he new now that his adversary would not easily be fooled. Again, he surrendered to the process, and yielded his control of the situation. He knew the interrogation had begun.

"My name is Michael Alan Westen."

_"An interrogation is all about rhythm and repetition. An experienced interrogator will establish the pace of questioning to establish control. Once they have control they can probe for more detailed information. Exactly where you've been, and what you've done._

Hours had passed without a break until he asked about meeting Sam Axe. When Michael offered to go over the mission of when and how they met in Bolivia, James said it wouldn't be necessary. Michael was glad the questioning was finally over. His relief was very short-lived because Michael was thrown into a room designed for maximum effect. The moment the doors slammed shut behind him, screaming sirens began to pierce his hearing. He held his hands to his ears, but it did very little to protect him from the noise that was invading his brain. The deafening sirens lasted for hours without a break.

_"Techniques such a sleep deprivation, noise irritation, and sensory overload are used to disorient you, to make it harder to resist questioning. The Geneva Convention doesn't consider these methods to be torture, but when you're experiencing them, it sure feels like it. The idea is the more worn out you become, the more likely it is you will make a mistake that your interrogator can pounce on, but at a certain point keeping your story straight is next to impossible when your also struggling to maintain your sanity."_

* * *

Michael was brought back to James and was questioned for hours at a time, and when James was through with him, they would take him back to his cell. The noise was taking its toll, and the lack of sleep was getting to him. He hadn't eaten or drank anything for what seemed like days. He was tired, disoriented, and thirsty. Michael was attempting to keep his composure but the longer the torture continued the harder it was getting. He was trained to resist torture, but a man has limits. Even the most highly trained operatives are subject to the same pains and discomforts as civilians, the only difference is their training in interrogation counter-measures and their ability to disassociate. Michael was unsure what day it was or how long he had been there, however long it had been, he had enough! Sweating, tired and on the brink of loosing it, he feared his fight to resist might soon be over.

When they brought him back to James this time, Michael asked for them to stop. "Stop! Just stop alright!"

"Michael, calm down we're done with this." "So this is over?"

"The first part yes." Michael collapsed into the chair he was sitting in. He was relieved that he held out and was done with all of this.

"It's time to set our sights on new horizons. This is going to loosen you up Michael, it's a chemical relative of benzodiazepine mixed with a synthetic hallucinogen."

Michael was pissed, he had just endured a hellish-nightmare to embark on an even more grim one. With drugs everything would be intensified and his resolve was already stretched to the limit. His family was counting on him. Michael desperate tried to talk his way out of this.

"Drugs will just make this more difficult! I'll tell you what ever you want to know."

"Yes, you will. Trust the process Michael. We might be surprised on what we will discover."

Michael had fear and trepidation in his eyes. James kneeled down beside Michael, "Give me your hand. We'll go through this together." Michael was reluctant and didn't want to give this maniac his arm, but he knew his life depended on it...and so did the life of his family. He gave James access to his forearm.

"I'm not going to lie, this is going to hit you pretty hard, and you're not going to be able to tell the difference between what is real and what is not real. Just lean into it." Involuntarily a tear escaped Michael's eye while James filled his veins with the poison of the hallucinogen. It was just as James said it would be, and it hit him even quicker than he could have imagined. He was sure that his cover would be ruined and all that he endured this past year would be for nothing.

* * *

Time slowed down and the room became a foggy haze, it was hard for him to focus on anything. His vision was blurred. James was standing right in front of him, at least Michael thought he was, but James's voice seemed distant and far away. His body didn't seem to match up with his mind, and he felt out of time and space. He didn't know how long he sat in that chair, but sometime later James had him thrown back into the room.

Michael was hallucinating...The door swung open to an intense light. He shielded his eyes from the brightness of it. "Whose there? His throat was dry and he whispered, "Fi?" Fiona was standing at the doorway in a beautiful orange-colored dress, her long brown hair was shimmering in the light.

"Michael," she called out his name.

"How are you here?"

"I'm not here," she said. Michael was confused.

"Fi, I...I can't take it, I can't take anymore," he said weeping.

"Yes, you can." Her voice was sweet and assuring. She kneeled down and whispered in his ear. "Yours isn't the only life on the line. If you tell them everything, we all die."

"I know," he whispered, "but the drugs are so strong. I can't take it much more," he said apprehensively.

"Yes, you can." Fiona repeated.

"Help me, I need you!" Fiona's gentle expression changed, and she stood up. She looked angry, "no! You don't need me." Michael couldn't understand why she was saying that.

"I do, I need you."

"If you tell them everything we all die!" Fiona had left just as quickly as she had come, and the door slammed shut.

"Come back," Michael said in a whimper. Desperate for her, he shouted this time, "COME BACK!" He couldn't understand why she had left him again. The room was silent and he was so tired, he just wanted to sleep. The noise was finally gone, he leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. As soon as he began to sleep the sirens jolted him awake. He screamed out, "NOOO! STOP IT!" He didn't even bother holding up his hands to his ears, it did no good anyway. He laid on the floor, wishing someone would just shoot him and end his pain. He had no concept of time, and again sometime later, he was brought back to James.

* * *

_"If your given psychoactive drugs during an interrogation it doesn't automatically make you spill every secret you've ever had. Drugs are used less to make you tell the truth than to make it harder to lie. Without a clear head it's difficult to make up a story and stick to it."_

Michael looked deranged, the drugs had taken their toll on his mind and on his body. He was examining the room and watched James pour a glass of water. Every noise was amplified, and the pouring water hurt his ears.

"Don't fight this Michael relax, breath...look at me. Michael's eyes continued to scan the room. "Look at me." Michael finally honed in on James's eyes. "There you are." James held out a glass of water for Michael, but he wasn't sure about taking it from him. He was thirsty, but the drugs had made him indecisive, he reached for it several times, but he didn't take it. He wasn't convinced it was safe to drink, he thought that maybe it was poisoned with more drugs. "We have learned a lot about you and what you have done, but for my purposes the what is less important than the why." James took the water away before Michael made up his mind to drink it. Michael pointed to the notebooks on the table. The ones he had spent hours pouring over and filling every detail so it would contain his complete life history, at least the life he wanted James to believe was real.

"It's in there...it's all in there."

"Well, we've gone over it, you've given me the names, the places, a little history, but now we need to go much deeper. We need to find out how you became the man you are today." Profusely sweating with blood-shot eyes, Michael began to swat at things that weren't there. "I don't understand," he said. Michael felt like his skin was crawling with bugs, he was trying to fight the temptation of believing the hallucinations he was experiencing were real. The drugs made it difficult to tell the difference between reality and fiction. He had lucid moments, and in those moments he reminded himself what he was fighting for, and why he had to stay strong.

"Here's what I'm curious about Michael, when the CIA recruited you, your test scores were good, your field work strong enough, but then when you were operating in Eastern Europe, you elevated your game. You went from a slightly above average operative to a living legend. Now how does that happen?"

"I followed orders, I did what I had to do. It just happened." Michael wanted to kill James. He was tired of being grilled by him and he kept thinking if his goons weren't standing around with guns, he would enjoy snapping his neck.

"I don't think so, the CIA would never give their higher priority operations to the Michael Westen that they had recruited. You evolved into something that they never expected. Something inside of you, it shifted, what was it? What do you think it was Michael?"

"My training kicked in. Look at my time in Kiev, that many high risk ops. in seven months, you grow stronger or you die."

"Yes, gradual improvements that comes with training, and yes, experience had something to do with it, but that's only the icing on the cake."

Michael was hallucinating again and James wanted to know what he was seeing. Michael saw a camp fire burning. Intensely he stared at the flames dancing across the logs. "What is it Michael, what's happening? What are you seeing?"

Michael laughed and blew it off..."nothing...nothing, I don't know." Michael stared at the ceiling and watched the snow flakes begin to fall around him. They looked so beautiful!

"Michael, you only need to put yourself there to find the answers." Michael was now sitting in a forest, on a log, in front of the fire with snow on the ground all around him. He tried to figure out where the laughing was coming from. He looked to his left, and his right. Larry was standing in the trees behind him. Tauntingly, Larry told him, "They're talking about me kid. I AM the answers!"

"No, no, no, no" Michael mumbled, he knew something wasn't quite right.

"I'm the only one who ever really believed in you. I MADE you!"

"That is not true."

"Oh the hell it isn't. You can't lie to me kid, I am in your head. You know exactly how much time and effort I put into you."

"You didn't do anything."

"Please, everyone thought you had the heart of a boy scout, but I...I saw your TRUE colors. I discovered that homegrown anger, that resentment, and all that stuff you keep bottled up inside of you. I taught you how to use it!" Larry laughed, "Your welcome by the way."

"You don't know what you're saying."

"Oh, I know EXACTLY what I'm saying. I was there kid, I remember how fast you took to it. How much you LOVED it!"

"You are not real. Get out of here." Michael knew what Larry said was true. He did "take" to it.

"Show some damn respect for the dead! I'm not asking for a candle light vigil, but at least honor my UNTIMELY PASSING! By admitting the truth. YOU ARE WHO I MADE YOU! That's all I ever wanted Michael, for you to accept who you are."

Michael shouted "Your WRONG!"

James was sitting beside Michael. "Whose wrong Michael? Whose there?"

"I..I don't know it's..it's the drugs...I'm not thinking straight."

"Michael don't think straight. Just let whatever is flowing through your mind come out, unfiltered. Refocus on the question. How did you become the CIA's Ace?

Larry appeared again, he whispered in Michael's ear, "just tell him."

"Stop it, stop it, STOP IT! Larry wouldn't stop antagonizing him.

"What's the harm in giving credit where credit is do?"

"Stop it, Stop it, IT"S IN THE PAST!" James was listening intently to Michael having his drug induced conversation. "This doesn't matter!" Michael yelled.

"Oh yes it does," said Larry. "It matters to you Michael, otherwise we wouldn't be here together, now just let it out."

The Psychological pressure was crushing Michael. Larry and James were hammering on him. Exhausted, Michael screamed for Larry to stop. "JUST...JUST STOP IT!"

"Why, you think he's going to hate you if he knows who you REALLY are?" He sneered in Michael's face. "Come on, tell him how much fun we had! That's what he wants, say my name. I promise you, you will feel better. SAY IT KID...SAY MY NAME!"

Michael, bellowed the name, "LARRY!"

"Well isn't that interesting," said James. "There's a Larry Sizemore in your notes, listed as a field officer, and that's all, nothing special." Michael was scared for the first time in a long time. He never really felt scared in the way other people did. He knew situations were dangerous, but fear was something that had been beat out of him as a child. He replaced it with drive and motivation, and it had served him well over the years. He thought it must have been the drugs that dropped his guard because he was terrified that James now knew Larry's name... He knew he would force him to confront his past with Larry, and Michael didn't want to do that. Michael answered his question. "He was special, a special kind of monster."

"Well you worked with plenty of monsters. What was so special about this one?" Michael was crying, another unfamiliar situation. He could count the number of times he had cried on one hand since he was a small child. The tears were flowing freely now. "He was dangerous and I was afraid."

"What were you afraid of?"

"I was afraid I was becoming like him, and I was afraid I was starting to like it." The thought of that disturbed Michael deeply. James walked over to Michael and held his face in his hand like a father might do when comforting his son.

"Fine, we are making progress." Michael was drugged again and this time he was allowed to sleep for a very short while.

* * *

"So I looked into your friend Larry, I must say the files I pulled on your ops together were very, very intriguing. Here's what we need Michael, we need to understand what he was to you. Michael woke up to the sound of James's voice. He sounded like a distant echo. He had lost time, the last thing he remembered was James telling him they were making progress. Something wasn't right, he must have been drugged again, but this time he blacked out. He didn't even remember where he had been. Was he put back in the room, had he slept on this chair? Everything felt out of sorts. Trying to collect his thoughts, Michael answered James, "what do you want to know?"

"Why did you and Larry stop working together?

"I already told you." Michael was shivering a little, he felt itchy and cold. How many days had they been drugging him? He never wanted to have to go through with-draws again and he was worried about the side effects.

"You can't deny you were a powerful team, and the CIA wouldn't let you split up without good reason." Michael was finding it difficult to focus and answer James.

"I was needed it the Middle East, so that's where I went."

"Talk to me about Vedeno, November, 95 what happened there? You and Larry were never on record working together again after that. Talk to me about that."

"Recon mission,"

"Recon? Why were you sent home six months before your post was finished?"

"I made a tactical mistake."

"What did the mistake look like?"

"We trusted a local military commander, but he betrayed us."

"So, you got taken by an asset, ops have gone bad on you before, so what makes this one so unique?" Michael looked down at his hands and saw a Mac 10 9MM. He didn't understand what it was doing in his hands. James saw him holding out his hands. "Michael, Michael!" He snapped his fingers to get his attention. "Michael pay attention! You and Larry betrayed by your contact and then what?" He raised his voice to just under a scream to get Michael's attention.

"We had to find him. The intel he had could expose everyone." Michael found himself in Vedeno, in the Chechen Republic. Larry was with him again, he didn't know if this was a memory, a dream, or if this was real. The snow on the ground was wet, and it felt real. Michael was crouched down next to Larry.

"That bastard, he couldn't have gotten far, move." Michael stood up and followed Larry.

James was waiting for an answer from Michael. "We tracked him down, standard op. Locate, corner, neutralize."

"Now you're just parroting orders. What did you and Larry do?

Michael was traveling between two worlds. He knew he was sitting with James in a room with a chair, and a massive fire-place, but he was in Vedeno too...

"Ah kid it happened. You know you can deny it all you want, but nothing is going to change the facts. Why don't you want to talk about it?" Michael and Larry were standing in the snow looking over the landscape of Vedeno. Larry had his hand on Michael's shoulder. "You know kid, these were our glory days. This was beautiful, this was something to be proud of!"

"Get out of my head Larry, I'm not listening to you anymore."

Larry laughed and Michael heard someone coughing. He turned around and saw a group of men sitting on the floor tied together. "Don't look at me like that Michael, these are NOT innocent people. They were hiding an enemy, OUR ENEMY!"

"That wasn't how it was supposed to happen!" Blurted Michael. "What happened?

"What happened Michael? Tell me!" James was loosing his patients.

"We interrogated the villagers, They helped hide him. They were just farmers. It didn't take long to figure out where they had hidden him. He barricaded himself inside of a factory."

Larry was screaming in his ear. "He doesn't want tactical details! He's not going to stop until you give him what's inside!"

Michael told James, "it was too risky to breach an extract, so we neutralized the situation."

"DAMN IT! again with neutralize, for the love of god use real words! The man was hiding like a coward. Was it worth risking our lives to silence him? Hell no! So, tell him how you solved it, tell him what you did!"

"I blew it up, I blew up the building!"

"That's what's bothering you, that you blew up the building? There is more to it than that. Your safe here, you can tell me," said James.

"Go on, go on tell him! Tell him why you ran away from me."

"I didn't know there were people in there."

"STOP! Stop right there! You knew!"

"I couldn't see inside!"

"Are you kidding me? You could have looked through the window, you could have counted cars in the lot, but you didn't! You want to try to play the boy scout and say, "oh it was an accident," but I know better, because I saw the look in your eye, that killer instinct. YOU KNEW THEY WERE THERE!"

"I DIDN'T CARE"

Michael was back in the room. "I lost control, I was angry. My friends...my friends were going to die. I didn't care what it took or who stood in my way, but I was going to make sure that son of a bitch was dead. I let my feelings blind me. I never wanted that to happen again."

James took a seat next to Michael. "And that is why you always get the job done without collateral damage."

"People in the factory...sometimes I still hear them scream."

James replied, "they never stop, they can get quieter, but they never stop." Michael had a tear rolling down his cheek again. "Michael, I want you to understand that what you've done here today is very important. I can't protect you unless I know what's driving you. You shared your burden and I will help you carry it." Michael smiled at James and was touched by his gentle tone and compassion. "Now you get some rest, because it is clear to me, there are more demons inside of you, and I will do whatever it takes to dig them out." When James told him that, Michael knew that the nightmare was far from over, and his lip quivered. He knew he couldn't hold out much longer, it was only a matter of time before he betrayed his family and friends. Whatever James was doing to him was affecting his mind and he was losing control over his own thoughts.

Michael was back in the room. This time, mercifully, the sirens had stopped.

* * *

_"A spy is trained to deal with a wide range of external threats. Combat, pursuit, capture, interrogation, even torture. Training is designed to expose you to as many situations as possible, so that when you encounter them in the real world you're ready. There are situations though you simply can't prepare for, no amount of experience or training can help you when the threat comes from inside your own mind."_

Michael's thoughts had drifted to his past or maybe he really was a child. His mind couldn't tell the difference anymore. He heard his mother yelling at his father. "Frank, stop it, your drunk. Don't come near me! Stay away from me!" Michael could hear the furniture being knocked over and glass breaking, but the worst noise was the sound of his father smacking his mother around. Michael hurried Nate outside of the house and told him to go to the neighbor's house. Nate didn't want to go because he knew Michael would get hurt. He knew if his brother stayed to help his mom that Frank would hurt him too. He always felt guilty that Michael stayed behind when his dad would get like this, he felt so small. Michael always protected Nate and made him leave, he would get his father to focus on him. Michael hated that his mother wouldn't leave. He never did care about the bruises left on himself after one of Frank's drunken outburst, but what he did care about was seeing his mother's black and blue face the day after his father's "episodes." One of these days he would kill Frank. He couldn't stand it when his mother made excuses for him and he hoped one day he could get her out of there.

* * *

Sam and Fiona had been tailing Sonya, trying to figure out where Michael was. He had been gone for days and they were worried about him. They followed her to a gated community that couldn't be accessed without tipping Sonya that she was being followed. Sam made arrangements for Jessie to pick them both up on Elsa's boat. That way they could access the estate by boat and try to get a better look without being detected.

Michael was back in the room with James and he was telling him to relax while he was filling his arm with more poison. Michael felt the drug hit his system hard. James was hammering on about his career or something. It was hard to pay attention.

"One of the reasons you are here is because your career is marked with an extraordinary degree of loyalty, loyalty to the agency, loyalty to your fellow operatives, loyalty to your friends, that is a good thing, but it's also a problem. Old loyalties die-hard, and I need to know you left yours behind."

"They are, I'm all alone."

"That's an easy thing to say, because I know how hard it can be to cut ties. Especially when you been in the game as long as you have."

"Look, at the work I've done with Sonya, and Burke, I've been loyal to you."

"You were useful to us, and I am grateful for that, but when Burke found you, you needed something. Something to hold on to, we gave you that. Loyalty and need are not the same thing. You don't know our cause you can't blindly dedicate yourself to something that quickly, not yet anyway. Michael, if you're a part of something else you need to tell me."

Michael's attention was snatched away from James with a scream. His father Frank was yelling for him. "Michael, Michael!

James was calling him, "Michael, Michael it is better if you tell me now.

"Michael! Michael! Damn it look at me when I'm talking to you son!" Michael was sitting in his garage with his father standing over him. He was just a child now.

"Dad, you can't be here."

"Why, because I'm dead? You can't get rid of me that easily, Michael.

James was yelling now too, "Michael, you're holding on to something! What is it?

Michael wasn't making any sense now, "it's just me. It's over...I...I" Michael felt like Alice down a rabbit hole. He knew his father was dead but he was standing in front of him. He knew he was in a room with James, but now he was back home. Up was down, and down was up. He needed some peace and quiet, he couldn't think straight.

"Tell him, go on tell him what you care about the most. It sure as hell ain't your family! You never gave a damn about me, or your mother, or Nate! Well, what is it Michael? I want to hear you say it out loud!"

Michael was getting upset, through gritted teeth he told Frank, "I am NOT doing this!"

"You're not doing what?" yelled Frank.

James demanded to know, "what are you resisting?"

Frank relentlessly shouted at Michael. "You dedicated your entire life to that agency. To that damn agency, and now it's time to come clean!"

"NO!"

"You might not like me, but you will listen to your father!" Frank grabbed Michael, and Michael pushed him off of him.

"Hah! You want to play tough with me now? Because I don't mind pounding the truth out of you boy! Frank slapped Michael in the face, "you left home for the CIA. He slapped him a second time, " You lost Fiona for the CIA." Frank pushed Michael and slapped him a third time, "You got your own brother killed for the CIA." He slapped him again, "And now you sure as hell are going to give them credit for it!"

"STOP!"

"TELL HIM MICHAEL, you tell him!"

"Don't do this, Stop it!" Michael was pleading. He knew he wasn't supposed to tell James anything, but he couldn't remember why he shouldn't say anything.

"This all stops, Michael, when you start talking!" Frank tried to punch Michael, but he blocked it this time, He was a grown man again, and Michael punched his father back. Frank stood up and landed a hit across Michael's face.

* * *

Michael woke up in the room, he was profusely sweating and disoriented. He had no grasp on reality anymore. The drugs were clouding his thinking. He felt like he was in a fun house at a carnival. A place filled with mirrors, he couldn't tell what was real, which way was out, his mind was bending and his sanity was leaking away like a dripping faucet. One thought at a time, drip, drip, drip.

Sonya came running into the room. Michael put up his hand as if to say no more. "What did you tell him?"

"What?"

"Michael what did you tell him? Before you passed out, before they threw you in here, you said something! What was it? What did you tell him?

"I don't know? I don't remember."

"What ever it was, it was bad. He knows Michael! He knows you betrayed us! He's going to kill you, we have to go!"

Sonya helped him up from the ground. Michael could barely walk, she was half dragging him. She led him out of the room and down a hallway. "We have to keep moving, it won't be long before someone realizes your gone."

"I can't, I can't walk...I can't make it."

"You can and you will! Or else we are both dead!" She leaned him against the wall while she made sure the passage was clear. Michael whispered, "Why are you risking your life for me?"

"Because you risked your life to get me out of that prison. I owe you, and I pay my debts. Come on Westen, one foot in front of the other." Sonya and Michael made their way outside.

During this time Sam, Fiona, and Jesse were trying to locate Michael from the boat. Sam saw through the binoculars that Sonya and Michael were both running from the mansion towards the ocean. James's men were catching up to Michael and Sonya. She told him that they needed to move faster.

"Now I know what they were running from." Jesse told Sam and Fiona. He spotted six armed-guards coming after Michael and Sonya. Sam pulled out an assault rifle. When Fiona and Jesse asked him what he was going to do with it, he said he was going to back Michael up. Fiona told him that he was too far away. "What the hell else am I supposed to do? I've made harder shots."

Michael was watching Sonya take the tarp off the small water craft. His strength was waning and he was leaning against a tree. He collapsed, and when he did, he hit his head on the way down. Michael was back in the garage as a child with his father Frank.

"Is that it? You have nothing else to say?"

"No, sir."

"What's that? Speak up! I can't hear you."

"NO, SIR!"

Michael, the grown man, watched his father turn away from the boy he once was, and he walked out of the garage. The younger version of himself was sitting alone on a chair, and Michael asked him, "What did you tell him?" The young boy turned the swivel chair towards the older version of himself, and with blood dripping from his face he told him, "I didn't tell him anything." He looked him directly in the eye and whispered, "I never tell him anything," and then smiled at Michael.

Michael opened his eyes, he was laying on the ground from where he had hit his head. Sonya walked over to him and helped him up. "Come on, come on, move your feet."

"I have to go back."

"What are you talking about? If you go back, he will kill you!" Sonya grabbed Michael's face tenderly and told him, "you are not thinking."

Michael said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," and he ran back towards the house.

"Michael!" Sonya shouted after him, "Michael!"

Fiona was watching from the boat and couldn't figure out why Michael was running back towards the guards and the house. Sam assumed it was because Michael didn't know he had help on the way and had given up.

The guards threw Michael on the floor in front of James. James grabbed a gun and told Michael, "I don't want to do this, you are an impressive operative. You lied to me and you betrayed me." James cocked the gun.

Michael got on his knees, "You won't pull that trigger."

"Why?"

"Because I'm here, and I have no reason to run, and I have nothing to hide."

"I wish I could believe you." James had his gun locked on him now.

"Oh, you can!" Michael began to stand up. "You can question me, you can drug me, you can torture me, he was standing tall now, it won't matter. Because I KNOW who I am!"

"A man who has no secrets can trust himself. James took the gun off of him. "Well, I'm glad your that kind of man!"

Sonya said, "I told you." Michael was surprised to hear her voice, and he turned around to where her voice was coming from.

Sonya continued, "this one is a keeper."

Michael realized just then, that she was a part of his "test." James stuck his hand out to Michael and introduced himself. "welcome to the family." Michael reached for his hand, he had finally done it, after everything he went through he was finally IN!

* * *

Sam walked through the front door of Maddie's house. Fiona and Jesse both gave him the hush sign so he wouldn't wake up Michael who was sleeping on his mother's couch. Sam walked into the kitchen where Fiona and Jesse were standing. "So how's Mike doing? Is he still sleeping it off?" Fiona answered," Madeline has been taking care of him, but he's still pretty out of it."

"Did he say anything else?"

Jesse said, "no, his brain is still really scrambled from all the drugs in his system. Fi tried talking to him, he took one look at her and he started crying and couldn't stop. Sam, did you find out anything?"

"Kind of, I went to the house where Mike was being held, and well, see for yourself." Sam handed Jesse a camera, "what am I looking at?" Sam answered, "the house is gone."

Fiona questioned him, "gone?"

"They must have demolished it the minute Michael was gone."

"This dude demolished a ten-million dollar home just to cover his tracks?"

"That's what I think."

Fiona was terrified for Michael, "What the hell has he gotten himself into?"

Sometime later, Madeline finished putting Charlie to sleep on the other couch and turned out the light. Michael stirred to the sound of the click of the lamp. Madeline turned around to see that Michael was awake. She smiled at her son and said, "hi, hi baby." Michael looked like a lost child to her. "Charlie is so excited that his uncle Mike is staying over. I couldn't get him to sleep in his own bed, he wanted to stay with you until you woke up. Madeline sat beside Michael and touched his face tenderly. "How are you feeling?"

"I've had better days."

"I've seen you look rough before Michael, but never like this. She hesitated and then asked her son, "what did they do to you?"

"They tried to get inside my head, they wanted me to tell them everything."

"You held out?"

"Barely...they gave me drugs, I saw things, I remembered moments, people..."

"Is that why you look so lost?" Michael shook his head no, "I saw dad."

"I can imagine how hard that must have been."

"Seeing him wasn't the hard part mom...it was realizing that he was the only reason that I survived."

Michael slept for days at his mother's house trying to recuperate from the long ordeal that James had put him through. He wanted to move forward but his body insisted on some down time. He felt like an idiot for crying in front of Fiona, but he had no words for what he had just gone through, and the drugs had wreaked havoc on his emotions.

How could he convey to Fiona that it was she that helped him hold out, and not give up when he was in that hole of a room. How could he explain that she was what saved him from himself? It was the vision, hallucination, he didn't know what to call it, that had given him strength when he thought he had no strength left to fight.

When he saw Fiona for the first time, after leaving James, he just wanted to wrap his arms around her and breathe her into himself. He knew her love could heal him, it had always been like a soothing balm to his parched, cracked, soul. The tears were an accumulation of his time with James and the reality that he would always be like a thirsty man in a scorching desert without her. He dreamt often while he was sleeping on his mother's couch. Fiona was always lingering in the shadows, in the midst of whatever form his dreams were taking on. Sometimes it was nightmares that occupied his sleep, and sometimes it was the best of everything a dream could be.

Michael was thoroughly rested, and finally on his feet again. He was looking forward to ending James, or was he? He hated James for what he had done to him, didn't he? Michael felt different, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He was sure that the drugs had left his system by now, but something felt off. Where was this anxiety coming from? Why did he even have hints of being conflicted about Sonya and James? They were the enemy, and he would bring them down for his family. Michael couldn't figure out why it felt like he was trying to convince himself that this was what needed to be done to complete his objective. He dismissed the disturbing thoughts and chalked it up to not being fully himself yet.

* * *

Michael was prepared to meet James with the back up of the CIA, he was anxious about bringing him in, but he was glad this would all be over soon. He was supposed to meet James at a restaurant, but of course James had other ideas. Michael was given a phone by a waitress that thought it was his, when James called him, he gave Michael a time limit to meet him at a specific location. It was just a few minutes away from the site they had previously agreed on. Michael had to run to get to the location on time, and when he arrived he had to get into a car. He was blind folded and took several forms of transportation to reach his final destination.

Michael was more than a little apprehensive getting into a car to have a meet with James, the last time he met with him, James had him drugged and tortured. When Michael arrived, he questioned James as to why he had to go through all the cloak and dagger routine. He wanted to know if he passed his test than why didn't James trust him. James assured him that he did trust him, and that he wouldn't have been within a hundred miles of their location if he didn't.

James asked Michael a very poignant question. "Do you know why you're here Michael?"

"My skills, my training."

"No, that's part of it of course, but no, it's because of what you've seen, what you've done. You still have a soul."

"I don't understand."

"Let me ask you something, in your career how many times have you had to execute an action that you knew was morally wrong for the mission. Make a deal with someone who you know is a monster because you had to follow orders?"

"Too many times."

"I was the same once, and then one day I was done with that. I can't fight and bleed for men without principle anymore. That's why I created this network to be the conscience to do the right thing. Now when we find a monster we don't make a deal with it, we destroy it! Now is that something you would be interested in?"

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't be within a hundred miles of this place."

Michael thought that James made some excellent points. How many times was he forced to make a deal with someone who was morally reprehensible because he had orders to do so. Too many times to count, and it often left a bad taste in his mouth. Too many times the government had made deals with warlords, kingpins, and sicarios. Once, he even had to let a human trafficker go, because he was giving the CIA information that would take down the trafficker's boss. A human trafficker! The thought of it made him sick even now. The idea of working for an organization that didn't make deals with the devil was alluring to him. It appealed to his own sense of justice.

* * *

"Well, there's your first monster, Marco Cabral. He was brought up in the DR, educated in England, came back home, and got himself a job."

"Head of the Dominican narcotics police."

"Correct, he is also the DR's biggest drug smuggler. He used his position to slaughter his rivals, and exploit the less fortunate. Now he's arranged a deal with the Brits in exchange for his intelligence network he gets a very comfortable retirement. In the meantime, I want you to get to him first, I want you to bring him to me. This operation has to be precise, quiet and under the radar so you may select one person, any resources you need will be provided. There's one last thing, when Burke found you in the DR, he was working on this. I think he would want you to finish it for him, so...

"It would be an honor!"

Michael really did think it would be an honor to take down this scum bag, and he felt like he owed it to Burke too. Michael was happiest when using his talent to take out a bad guy, and this time was no different. A part of him was glad that Strong had not been able to capture James yet. He wasn't sure why that thought even crossed his mind, but he chalked it up to being on the hunt. It's what he did best, he knew that's what he was made for.

* * *

Strong had contacted Jesse because he needed Fiona and him to run down a lead on a person that was associated with James. Strong needed them because Michael and Sam were busy working on the mission to take down Cabral.

Jesse and Fiona were on their way to take a plane that the CIA had waiting for them, but Fiona had to make a stop first. Madeline had called her and wanted to meet with her face to face. Jesse tried to convince Fiona to put off the meeting because Strong would be pissed if they were late. Since Fiona was only helping the CIA because she was being forced too, she didn't care about Strong being upset. However, Fiona did care about Madeline being upset, and she wanted to find out the reason for their meeting.

Over the years, Fiona had grown to love Madeline, she thought of her as family. Madeline was always kind to her and had accepted her from the moment they first met. Madeline provided a motherly influence in her life and since she missed her own family so much it was nice having that kind of connection with Maddie. Fiona hadn't seen much of Madeline since Nate passed away. She remembered how much she wanted to be alone after her sister had died and she wanted to give Madeline some space to grieve, but it was more than that. Fiona was concerned that Madeline may not want to see her anymore, because she was no longer "with" Michael. When Fiona first saw Madeline sitting at the restaurant waiting for her to show up; she wondered if Madeline was finally going to give her a piece of her mind.

Fiona was relieved after their conversation had taken place; Madeline still loved her and was coming to her as a friend. Carlos had called Madeline because he knew she was close to Fiona, and he thought maybe she would have some insight as to why Fiona was lying to him. Fiona only lied about doing jobs for the CIA because she knew how much it bothered Carlos that she was still involved with helping Michael. She didn't blame him really, but there was nothing she could do about it until James was out of the picture. If this mission failed then they would all be back in jail. She thought she was protecting Carlos by keeping him out of the loop.

Fiona saw the love in Madeline's eyes when she was talking to her, and she was happy that she still thought of Fiona as family too. Fiona felt so conflicted after her visit because seeing Madeline made her sad too, she was just another reminder of Michael...but wasn't everything just another reminder of Michael? Sam, Jesse, Madeline, Charlie, everything in all of Miami was just another reminder. Fiona wondered if it would ever stop hurting as badly as it did now. She thought that maybe she would always feel this way, and she would just have to grow accustom to it. That's what she had done with the pain of her sister's death, she had learned to grow accustomed to it, but it was never far from her. A life apart from Michael cut just as deep as the loss of her sister, and she feared that wound would never heal either...

* * *

Michael was holding up at the apartment in the Dominican Republic waiting for Sam to arrive. He wanted Sam's help on this job, he knew he could always count on his best friend to come through for him, in all the years they had worked together he had never let him down yet. He needed Sam to help keep himself centered. He felt himself slipping into James and Sonya's world and he liked it a little too much. He was back doing what he loved to do. He was taking out bad guys and making the world a safer place. These were the kind of missions that were simple and straight forward. You planned, you executed the plan, and you were in and out. Hopefully if things went right you lived to fight another fight, and the bad guy was put out commission.

"Anybody home?

"Hey Sam."

"Before you say another word Mike, there's something that I got to say. I'm not sure if I want in on this op. Screwing up an extradition deal run by MI6, as in the security service of our closest ally!"

"They're giving a drug smuggler a comfortable retirement. You read the file Sam, Cabral has killed entire families. Listen, they may be our ally, but I'm not going to lose sleep over this."

"O.k., but you do remember what the job is right? Why we're here? Cause it aint to take down Cabral."

"James is the target, Cabral is just a means to an end."

"So we're clear on that?"

"We're clear."

Michael explained the mission in detail to Sam. Sam was going to meet with Cabral before the MI6 team showed up, and offer him enough money to make him want to deal with Sam instead of the Britts. They had to call in a fake bomb threat to the embassy to delay MI6 from showing up so Sam could handle the negotiations without any interruptions. Michael was going to keep Cabral in his sites with a sniper rifle so if anything went wrong he could protect Sam.

Cabral tried to take the money and keep his deal with MI6, but Michael had Sam covered. With one sniper shot to the bottle of Champagne that was sitting on Sam's table used as a warning, it was enough to convince Cabral to let Sam walk away. Michael and Sam had back up plans to sabotage the safety that MI6 was offering Cabral and hoped that it would be enough to convince him to take their deal instead.

* * *

Sam knew something was different with Michael, and he didn't like what he was seeing. He thought Michael was beginning to believe all the bull shit that James was feeding him about honor, and trust, and allegiance to his organization.

Michael took an extreme risk by sabotaging the boat that MI6 had waiting for Cabral. He had almost gotten himself killed by planting a bomb in the water on the boat because of the time frame he was working with, and for what? So he could bring Cabral back to James? Because failure wasn't an option when working for James? Sam didn't like how Michael was getting sucked into the double life he was leading. He knew it was time to talk to Michael, he needed to find out where his head was at these days before he left to go back home.

After the sabotage of the MI6 boat Cabral agreed to meet with Sam and take him up on his offer. Michael was posing as Sam's driver and Sam took the opportunity to talk with Michael the few minutes they had alone before Cabral would arrive at the parking structure.

Sam started with some small talk, "How's it looking out there?"

"No sign of surveillance. We're all set. Cabral said two o'clock?"

"Yeah, the north parking structure, two o'clock. So I've been checking out this kidnapping kit they put together for us, not bad. I think we wait until we get out of the city before we gift wrap him. So what is this? Halothane?"

"It's an animal sedative, it will knock him out cold until he gets to whatever pit James is throwing him into."

"Pit, huh?"

"He's just getting what he deserves!"

"Hey! I'm no friend of Cabral. I mean the guy almost killed me. I'm just concerned that your enjoying this just a little too much."

"Enjoying this? I've been working on this job for over a year Sam."

"That's what I'm worried about. Look I'm your best friend, I can see that look in your eye. This guy James is getting to you, they all are."

"I know... that's why I need you here. I know who James is, I know who Sonya is, but it's difficult to work so hard to be part of something knowing you have to destroy it. These people believe in what they're doing. I'm sorry I'm putting you in this situation, but I don't think I can do this alone."

"You don't have to brother."

Sam just wanted to make sure Michael's head was still in the game, and that he was still focused on the objective of taking James and his organization off the map. He felt a little better about the whole thing after hashing things out with Michael.

They ran into some trouble on this job. Michael had put his own life on the line yet again because James didn't tolerate failure. In the end they delivered Cabral to James as promised.

* * *

While Michael and Sam were on their mission for James, Fiona and Jesse met up with Strong to find out more about the person that James was keeping in a mental hospital. Strong was on a crusade to take down James and he would use whatever means necessary to do so. He knew what he was doing to Michael and his friends wasn't the least bit ethical, but he no longer cared about things like ethics. He had been after James's organization for almost a decade and he wasn't going to quit until the regrets of the last eight years were not in vain. He had lost his wife and his family over this obsession, and his lack of results tarnished his career at the CIA, but now he had Michael Westen in his pocket. He knew if anyone could see this through to the end it was Michael.

Strong was waiting for Jesse and Fiona at the hospital and as soon as they got there, he read them in with all the information he had available which wasn't much.

"Welcome to Biloxi. Hope you enjoyed your flight?"

"Not so much," Jesse answered. "With all your secret budgets you can't spring for a bigger plane? I've been in bumper cars that had more leg room than that thing."

"I'll bring it up with Congress. Here's the situation, officially a person of interest was transferred here for an out patient procedure. We'll do the interrogations in one of the surgery rooms, and ship him back when we're done."

Fiona asked, "Do we have a name?"

Strong replied, "We have about fifty names. Every time he got moved to another institute for the criminally insane, he got a new file, and a new I.D. For now, he's John Doe."

Jesse spoke up, "I'm not liking the whole criminally insane thing, is he dangerous?"

"We have to assume he is. He's been in isolation on a double dose of Haldol as far back as the records go. We've been stepping him down slowly off of the drug."

Jesse was looking through the file, "Are you sure that's a good idea? His picture shows a special forces tattoo. I prefer my trained killers on the sleepy side."

"That's not going to happen, we need him cogent so he can answer questions. I'll lead the interrogation, but I want the two of you backing me up and filling any blanks with what you know about James. " Alarms starting going off as the three of them were walking down the hallways of the hospital. Code red, Code red calling all security came over the loud speaker. As they walked around the corner they heard the doctor asking for a cat scan for the man that was down on the floor.

Strong asked the man, "What happened? Where is John Doe?"

"We were escorting him to the holding room, somehow he got out of his restraints."

"We have to find him now! If he somehow gets out of this hospital..."

Jesse told Strong, "you have to lock this place down."

"How? The CIA isn't officially here. If we order a lock down, we could expose the entire operation."

Fiona chimed in, "We're not going to catch a special forces operative with hospital security."

Jesse suggested, "Quarantine, contact the CDC and tell them there's an Anthrax outbreak. That's the only way to lock this place down."

"Alright I'll make the call, you two alert security." Strong was furious about the escape. Something was always standing in his way, it was just another obstacle that could annihilate this mission. He had to find him, the operation couldn't be compromised. Everything was hanging by a thread, and he was so close to getting James he could taste it!

* * *

Fiona, Jesse and Strong were in the security room watching the cameras, they had about another hour before the lock down would be over, and still there was no sign of John Doe. Fiona believed that he was still in the building, just then Jesse noticed a camera that picked him up running down a hallway, and then the feed stopped. Strong thought the only place he would've gone was to the roof. Jesse thought because he was special forces that it was more likely he was just trying to make them believe he was headed to the roof. That way they would start pulling security off of the exits, which is exactly what he would want them to do. Strong said they had cleared the entire building, and the roof was the only place he could've gone. Fiona wasn't so sure about that either, and she suggested that they check the elevator shaft because that's what she would do and that's where the camera feed was cut. They all took separate floors and checked the elevator at the same time. Strong's floor was clear and so was Fiona's, but Jesse was blindsided by John Doe, and he knocked him out.

Jesse woke up with his hands and feet tied so he couldn't move. John Doe rigged an improvised explosive and hung it around Jesse's neck. Jesse was trying to get some information and make a connection of some kind with what he thought was a criminal. Soon later, Jesse learned that James had kept John Doe drugged and institutionalized for fifteen years. He also found out that James' last name was Kendrick. John Doe thought that Jesse was there to harm him, but Jesse explained that he was helping the CIA find James and take down his terrorist organization.

Fiona and Strong had blasted their way into the room to save Jesse, but Jesse assured them that they were all on the same team. It took a little convincing, but when they realized John Doe was the victim, Strong assured him that he would help him get his life back.

* * *

When Michael was back from handing Cabral over to James, he met up with Strong. Michael had already read the file given to him on James. When the CIA finally learned of his last name they found out that he was Special Forces, Delta. They still had no idea why he had "gone off the rails" but John Doe was there, and had information to give them. He refused to talk to anyone but Michael. He wanted to speak to the man who was working directly with James. John Doe's real name was Peter Millard. He was Delta Force too, he was in the same unit as James, and had disappeared the same time James did.

"You the guy that's working with James?"

"No, I'm the one that's working to stop him."

"What makes you think you can do that?"

"Because I'm willing to do whatever it takes, and go as far as I have to go."

"As far as you have to go?" Peter laughed. "Tell me this, do you realize how far James is willing to go?"

"I'm starting too."

"I doubt it... What do you know about Mogadishu?"

"I know you and James served together there. According to the report your unit was wiped out protecting a village, he was presumed KIA, but so were you."

"Is that what the report says?"

"Why don't you tell me what really happened."

"My unit was sent to take out a warlord outside of Mogadishu. It turned out the intelligence was bad. The warlord was a kid wannabe with some punk friends and some rifles. The camp turned out to be a village full of women and children. We radioed in and got some suit up the line that didn't want a blotch on his record, and orders came down to wipe them out anyway... A lot of guys didn't like it, but orders were orders. I couldn't do it, James was my best friend, and I asked him to talk to the suits about it and he said he would try."

"But it didn't work?"

"No. James wouldn't disobey a direct order. I told him we had to do something, he said he'd handle it. I thought...well, I don't know what I thought."

"What did he do?" Silence filled the room. "Peter, If I'm going to help you, I have to know what I'm facing. What did he do?"

"He killed them all...the whole unit...he slit their throats while they were sleeping. You can't stop him, no one can stop him! I tried, and he put me away. Buried! 15 years! I loved that man...I would have followed him anywhere, and he led me straight to hell!"

* * *

After Michael finished talking with Peter he went back to his loft. He needed some time to himself, and spent a few days alone there gathering his thoughts. He wanted to decompress after hearing about what kind of man James was through the eyes of Peter. Michael couldn't pin point why he felt so conflicted about James. He knew he had forged a connection with him, even after he had tortured and drugged him. Most people would despise someone after putting them through that kind of hell, but Michael didn't hold it against him. Michael knew James was vetting him for his organization.

The experience was more intense than anything he had ever been through before, but it wasn't unlike what the Rangers put their guys through to vet them for special forces. Sure James took it to a whole other level, but for a noble purpose in James' mind. Michael knew James was extremely careful about the "family" he let into his inner circle. After all it was James' policy to never leave anyone behind, so you had to be willing to die for the cause. He wanted his people worthy of the sacrifice. Michael couldn't blame him for that, and he thought the CIA could learn a few things about loyalty from his play book. How many times could a man be betrayed by his government before he would go rogue? How many times could a man be left dangling in the wind with no help or support from the people he bled and sacrificed for? He didn't agree with James' methods, especially since they had caused him so much pain, but he knew James was the kind of man who would do what ever it took, and go as far as he had to go, to get the job done. Michael believed they were very much alike.

He thought he was beginning to understand what James was trying to do, and now armed with new information about what he had done to Peter's unit and to Peter, he realized he didn't know James at all. He was disappointed and disenchanted with James as a man and with his cause after hearing all the things that Peter had to say. Still Michael had doubts, it wasn't as black and white as it should have been. Michael thought about all the innocent people he had killed while on that mission so long ago with Larry, it never stopped haunting him, and the screams were never quieted in the darkness of the night. He hoped that if the people he loved knew what he had done, that they wouldn't measure the man that he was by one horrific mistake.

Michael thought about all the good he had done too. Maybe Peter was lying, or maybe he didn't have all the facts about James. Maybe it was this mistake that drove James to take out the monsters in this world as much as his own mistake had driven him to battle the evils of humanity too. All men have good and evil in them, this was the only thing that Michael was sure of. What mattered about a man was that the good out weighed the evil. Michael was irritated by putting so much thought into James and what his motives might be. Michael had a mission to complete, so it didn't matter what James had done, or what he would do in the future, all that mattered was taking him out so Michael's family could be free, and he could finally be done with the deception once and for all.

* * *

Michael was eating some blueberry yogurt when he heard a knock at the door. "Damn it, I never seem to be able to finish a whole yogurt without somebody interrupting me." Two of James' men showed up at his door. They wanted his gun, and his phone, and they wanted Michael to take a drive with them. Michael was getting a little tired of the lack of trust. He felt a little slighted by all the precautions James continued to take, after all hadn't he had proved himself worthy by enduring James' initiation? Then Michael thought about how ironic it was to feel that way because in reality he indeed should not be trusted by James. His whole reason for working with Sonya and James was to dismantle their organization. It almost made him laugh out loud. It's never good to believe your own lies so much you forget it's part of the job, but for some reason the lines kept blurring with this one, and he knew it had to stop.

Michael was escorted into a building by men with guns. In fact there were men with guns through out the entire facility. Michael found Fiona, Sam and Jesse waiting in a large room and all of them had been "asked" to come the same way Michael had been "asked" to come. They were uneasy and unsure of James' intentions and they were discussing trying to come up with a game plan to escape. Michael had to assure them that if James wanted them dead, they would all already be dead. Inwardly, he wasn't so sure, but he wanted his friends to remain calm and wait to find out the reason that they were all there before jumping the gun.

"James, what the hell is going on? You asked us here without a moments notice, no communication, no warning!"

"Well, I needed to talk to you. I apologize if my arrangements caused you any anxieties. Security precautions, it couldn't be helped. "

"You could have just told us where to meet you."

"Well, a man in my position doesn't last very long if he announces where he is going in advance."

"I understand that, but what were we supposed to think?"

"I'm not concerned with what you think, I'm concerned with what you do, and you all did fine."

"So, this was a test..."

"We may not have worked together that long, but you should know Michael, everything is a test. Now, lady, gentlemen, we have a lot to discuss. Thank you for bearing with me, normally I like to do this kind of thing in a more civilized sort of fashion. We needed a team in Miami, in a hurry and your it!"

"James, what is this about? Is this a job? "

"Michael waiting tables is a job, digging ditches, that is a job. This is more than a job! A man is going to be assassinated within the next 24 hours and I want to make sure that doesn't happen"

James continued to explain the details of the mission and introduced Ben Snider, one of his most senior men in his organization. He was going to be running the op. Everyone in the room including Michael could see that Ben was a little unsteady. The kind of guy that none of them would ever follow into a dangerous situation. They glanced at each other and all of them were thinking the very same thing. However, when James asked if they were all in, every eye was focused on Michael, Michael replied for everyone and told James, "Yeah, we're in" It brought a little pride to Michael to see Fiona, Sam, and Jesse still looked to him as a sort of leader. They were some of the most capable people he had ever known. He had nothing but pure respect for each one of them, and he admired their skills tremendously. He knew he never could have gotten this far without them.

* * *

Michael and Sam were working security detail for the client that James wanted protected, while Fiona and Jesse were sweeping the perimeter of the building. The man they were protecting was a Middle Eastern diplomat. The speaking engagement he was addressing was over and there were no incidents, all seemed to be going well at the reception too. Ben Snider was working surveillance in a truck just outside of the hotel where Dr. Hamed had been speaking. An encrypted cell phone message came in and was being used in the reception room. Michael identified who he thought the hitter could be, he noticed a waiter was wearing an ear piece and was extremely interested in Dr. Hamed. When Michael approached him, the waiter started to run away. Fiona and Jesse were going to try to head him off at the exits.

Sam rushed Dr. Omar Hamed to safety, he locked him in a supply room and was standing guard over him. Snider pulled the van around and exited the vehicle in time to point his gun at the fleeing waiter. He was now outside the building and Michael was behind the young man doing the same thing. The waiter began to say that it wasn't his fault, and that they made him do it. "Do What?" When Michael was questioning the waiter trying to figure out what he had done, another van pulled into the driveway and shot the young waiter. The van escaped, and when Michael checked on the young waiter he was already dead. Just about that time Dr. Hamed, who was still with Sam, began to have some kind of an episode. He was choking, and sweating profusely, and he couldn't breath. Sam let Michael know what was happening to Dr. Hamed. When Sam checked the doctor's pulse it was thready and weak. Michael reached into the dead man's jacket and found a vial of what he believed must have been poison.

* * *

They brought Hamed to a combat hospital that James had put together and in less than an hour Dr. Hamed was being treated with the best care money could buy. However, Dr. Hamed's liver was failing. He was given beta blockers to slow the effects of the poison, but his system was shutting down and nothing was helping him. When Sam suggested they take him to a regular hospital the doctor treating Hamed assured everyone it wouldn't matter anyway because he was poisoned with a custom-made toxin. He further explained that they could not reverse engineer the toxin. If they wanted to save his life they would have to find the antidote, because without it, he believed Dr. Hamed would only have at the most 24 hours to live.

Snider believed the waiter was an assassin. Michael laughed at that suggestion, he told Snider the guy was terrified. Michael and Sam both knew that the circumstances and evidence pointed to the facts that the waiter had no inside knowledge about the operation to kill Dr. Hamed. Michael told Snider the waiter was just a cut out and was being forced to help the true assassins. Snider insisted they grilled whatever friends and family the dead waiter had in Miami, and find the connection to the Libyans. Sam was getting hot under the collar. "Hang on! Now your going to drag the poor bastard's family into this?"

"Hamed is dying! Do you have a better idea?"

"Do I have a better idea than interrogating a caterer's grandma? Yeah, give me like two seconds and I'll give YOU A BETTER IDEA!"

"It's not your call to make!"

"Maybe it is!"

Michael was standing in between the two men having a yelling a match. "Hold on...Fi and Jesse are working on this, lets see what they come up with before we kill each other."

* * *

Fiona and Jesse pinned down who made the poison by combing through the dead waiter's cell phone. They narrowed it down to a strip club that had been investigated for distributing synthetic drugs. The club's owner's name was Dr. Khalid Mazik and his immigration papers stated that he was a chemical engineer from Lybia.

Michael believed if they made the right approach they may be able to get the antidote. He came up with a plan for Fiona and Jesse to approach Mazik because none of the Libyan's had seen either one of them. Snider wanted to go in with guns blazing, Michael assured him that because he was a drug dealer he would be well armed and well guarded. If Mazik died than Dr. Hamed would die too. Snider agreed to help them in anyway that they needed.

Jesse went to the strip club before Fiona to scout out the place and see how Mazik operated. Fiona joined him a little bit later along with 100,000 dollars cash and 1000 tabs of pure ecstasy. When Jesse saw what Fiona had brought, he asked her how did she get her hands on that kind of money and drugs. Fiona told him that she was taken to one of James' storage warehouses and that it looked like it was a swap meet for terrorist. She told them they had everything from drugs to chemical weapons stored there, she told him about the crates full of arms from the Chinese army too. Jesse mentioned that James could do a lot of damage, but before they could get any deeper into that conversation, Fiona saw the opening to approach Mazik.

Fiona and Jesse used their skills and finesse to get some alone time with Mazik, when he wouldn't cooperate on his own, they had to kidnap him and make an escape through the window of his office. They brought Mazik to Snider and because Mazik still wasn't cooperating, Snider injected him with his own poison. If Mazik wanted to live he would lead them to the antidote.

Dr. Hamed was running out of time and because he was so close to death Sam and Michael were going to take Hamed to the site that Mazik was taking Jesse, Snider, and Fiona to retrieve the antidote, so when they got it they could administer it to Dr. Hamed right away.

* * *

When Snider and the team arrived with Mazik to the site it was crawling with armed guards. There was supposed to only be two guards, but after Mazik was kidnapped they ramped up the security. Mazik told them there was a break in the fence in the back of building in case police came for them to make their escape if they ever had to. That was the route that they would take into the building. Jesse secured the area and they all made their way inside undetected. Mazik grabbed the antidote and was about to give himself an injection when Snider grabbed it away from him and told the team he was going to let the poison kill him or let Mazik's own team execute him for helping them.

Jesse and Fiona were not o.k. with that and when Mazik tried to escape, Snider shot him. The noise alerted the other guards they were there. They were under heavy fire. Hamed was fading fast and Fiona told Jesse he had to make a run for it to get the antidote to him on time. Fiona and Snider were laying down cover fire to get Jesse out safely. She told Jesse they would be right behind him.

Jesse made it to Hamed, but through the gun fire one of the chemical barrels inside the building caught on fire. The entire room was quickly spreading in flames. Fiona was trapped and asked Snider to find something to break through the barred windows. Snider was panicking and rapidly gave up on being able to help her, he told Fiona he couldn't find anything to get through the bars and began to make his way out the building. Fiona called for him to help her as the flames were getting higher and hotter all around her, she began to choke. Snider told her he was sorry and like a coward he ran out of the building leaving her to her own devices. Fiona could feel the heat of the inferno closing in on her, as the smoke began to strangle her lungs she began to suffocate desperately searching for some oxygen. The room's objects began to fade to dim as she was passed out finally laying alone and unconscious on the floor.

Snider ran out to where Michael was. "Where's Fiona? Ben didn't answer. "Snider where is she?"

"She didn't make it. The whole building is on fire, we got to get out of here!"

"What do you mean she didn't make it?"

"I mean she is gone there was an explosion...and there was fire..." before he could finish Michael grabbed him and pushed him up against the van.

"Did you see it happen? DID YOU SEE HER DIE?"

Snider wouldn't answer him and Michael took off running towards the flaming building. He wasn't going to loose her like this. It was his fault she was on this job and he wouldn't leave her, if she died than so would he.

The smoke was dense and the flames were engulfing the entire building now. Michael could hardly see anything in front of him. Michael called out for Fiona, "Fi!" Time stopped for a split second when he saw the love of his life laying unconscious on the floor as a huge wall of fire stood between them. He screamed out again "Fiiiii!" He found a fire extinguisher and grabbed it. The flames were so intense that the metal burned his hand. Through the pain he took off his jacket and grabbed it again. He was choking from the smoke, he threw the extinguisher into the sea of flames and shot at it. All of the fire retardant exploded around him and temporarily squelched the flames making a path accessible to Fiona. "Fi." She didn't answer him. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms and carried her through the maze of burning metal all around them. He knew they barely escaped death once again, he hoped Fiona would be okay. He would never forgive himself if this mission cost the only woman he ever truly loved her life.

* * *

Michael was sitting on the edge of Fiona's bed where she still lay unconscious. He watched her breathing and waited for any sign of her waking up. She eventually stirred and opened her eyes. She looked around the room and saw Michael. She said his name. "Michael," her voice was hoarse from all of the smoke inhalation. He said,"Hi."

"How long have I been here?" She said in a strained voice.

Quietly he answered her, "Just a few hours."

She coughed a little, "and Hamed?"

Michael smiled at her, "He's going to be o.k. we got him the antidote on time."

Fiona saw his hand was bandaged and picked it up, "What is this?"

"Nothing" he put his hands behind his back. Fiona had never seen so much love in someone's eyes before. She knew he had saved her life yet again.

"You got me out of there, I didn't think I was going to make it. Thank you."

"You would have done the same for me." Both Fiona and Michael felt the connection to one another again. There was no mission, no job, no CIA, it was just the two of them loving one another for a brief beautiful moment in time.

"Sir, can you join us outside?"

Michael didn't want to let that moment flee from them. He could have stayed there by her side staring in her eyes for eternity. When he saw they way she looked back at him a tiny bit of hope came crawling back to him.

Sam, Jesse and a few other men were outside of the temporary hospital room.

"Hey Mike, how's Fi doing?"

"She's stable and she is going to be o.k."

Sam smiled a smile of assurance, " Good, you can't keep her down for long."

They all heard the noise of guards' radios, "Midas" (code name for James) is coming to the building.

Jesse said, "It sounds like the hive is buzzing."

"I heard about Fiona, if she needs anything, you don't hesitate to ask. You understand? Michael shook his head yes. "Forgive me, we couldn't take her to a real hospital, they would've asked too many questions. We owe her, you, and the entire team a great debt of gratitude.

"And Hamed?"

"He is more than o.k. he is on his way to Tripoli now for the second round of peace talks. I know it wasn't easy, but it was a successful mission...for the most part." James walked over to Snider.

"James, I...I"

"Don't, Ben, don't make excuses. Do you remember when I first invited you to join me? To join us?"

"Of course, I'll never forget it."

"And do you remember the promises we made to each other that day?"

"That we would...we would always stand together."

"Stand together, yes. What else? What did I tell you when I asked you to run a team out in the field? What did you agree to?"

"We would never leave anyone behind."

"That's right, NEVER!"

"James, please you have to understand, I didn't think there was anything I could do to save her."

"I understand it, but I can't forgive it!" James pulled out his gun and pointed it at Ben.

"James!"

Michael stepped in, "James, what the hell are you doing?"

"What needs to be done Michael."

"He made a mistake."

"A mistake? A member of your own team almost died today because of this man's lack of action. I don't call that a mistake, I call it cowardice, I call it betrayal."

Ben was pleading, "James..."

"He made a promise Michael, and promises must be kept." James looked at Michael, "Tell me I'm wrong." Michael was looking for any kind of way out of what seemed to be the inevitable and he found none. He couldn't believe he was going to watch James kill this man right before his eyes and not do anything about it.

"James, please...James." The first thing Michael thought of was not the death of this coward that was standing next to him, but that this idiot left Fiona to die, to burn away like she was nothing...The second thing that came to Michael's thoughts were that Sam and Jesse would have a problem with him not doing anything to stop James and there was nothing he could do about that either. He knew it would be another wedge between them, but he was willing to endure their disappointment in him yet again if it meant he could save them all from prison.

"Tell me I'm wrong! James waited for a moment for Michael to speak up. "Goodbye, Ben." James shot Snider in front of Michael, Sam, Jesse and his other men. It was more than retribution for his lack of courage it was a lesson James was giving to everyone that worked for him, do the same and meet the same fate.

* * *

Michael was leaving in the dead of night, under the cover of darkness on a mission for James. He was throwing his gear in a small watercraft when he drew his gun on the person that was sneaking up behind him.

"It's me, Michael."

"Fi, what the hell are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

"Do you know how dangerous it is for you to be here right now? I was told to leave the country without contacting anyone."

"Relax, we're alone. No one saw me follow you, not even you."

"Good, then no one will see you leaving. Fiona planted her feet and gave him the look. He knew she wasn't going anywhere. "I'm serious Fi."

"Well this seriously can't wait!

Frustrated Michael stopped what he was doing and gave Fiona his full attention, "What is it?"

"You know what it is. (Michael knew exactly what it was, but he said nothing.) "You stood by and watched James Kendrick execute a man right before your eyes."

"There was nothing I could do."

"You could have stopped him."

"And if I tried, it would have blown my cover and ruined everything. This is the job!" He was so tired of having to explain his actions to people. Didn't they understand this is what it was going to take? He was tired of being beat up by the people that were supposed to have his back. They knew the stakes. Did they want him to do nothing? He was tired of fighting all of them, and he just wanted her to leave.

"Ah... right the Job." Fiona looked exasperated. "That's why you've avoided me, and Sam and Jesse ever since, because you're doing your job? I think it's because a part of you likes what he did."

"What do you want me to do Fi? Snider left you to die. I'm not going to shed a tear for that man. How is that wrong?"

"Because you are defending a man you are supposed to be taking down. Admit it, you are too close to this. That's why you fit in so well with him, that's why he likes you so much." Michael could see the concern in Fiona's eyes and he tried to calm his voice and assure her that she shouldn't worry and that he was alright.

"I'm in deep cover. I'm supposed to make James like me. It's just a cover." Michael gave her a sweet smile, he tried to reassure her that he was fine.

No it isn't, I know when you're faking it, I can see it in your eyes.

"I'm doing everything I can to end this mission for you...for all of us."

"You can't do that if you lose yourself along the way." She said tenderly almost in a pleading manner.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I know when to draw the line." When Fiona heard those words "I know when to draw the line," she almost choked on them and her attitude quickly changed.

"Like you did with Sonya?" Fiona's words slapped Michael hard across the face. He was furious with her, how could she stand there judging him? He did it for the mission. As soon as that thought entered his mind, he knew that wasn't completely true. He could lie to Fiona about his reasons, but what was the sense in lying to himself. Part of him wanted to hurt Fiona the night she told him "it's already over." Why did she have to look at him with those piercing eyes? He could throw Carlos in her face, but instead he swallowed his anger and disappointment at her, and at himself, and he said nothing. He got in his boat and disappeared into the night.

Fiona had never seen Michael look at her like that. Just days ago, his eyes were filled with the purest love she had ever seen, and tonight she had seen something completely different in Michael's eyes. It was something she had never seen before. He had been upset with her on numerous occasions in the past, but never like this. He looked so wounded when she brought up Sonya. There was a brutal-storm brewing behind the eyes that stared at her. His gaze never left her until he vanished into the darkness. It left Fiona feeling chilled and she shivered where she stood. Why did she push him that far? She didn't know where he was going, but she was sure his life would be in danger as it always was when he left on a mission. If something happened to him this time , she would never forgive herself for allowing him to leave while he was so angry. She prayed he would be safe and hoped they would have another chance to talk.

* * *

Fiona pulled into her driveway and watched Carlos through the window of her house. He was so different from Michael, sometimes that's what she loved about him, and sometimes that's what drove her to reliving every memory she ever had with Michael. She caught her breath and put her very early-morning meeting with Michael behind her. She walked through the door and Carlos was already pouring her a cup of coffee.

"Hey there she is. How was your...what was it?... meeting?"

"Yeah, business with an old acquaintance. It turned out to be a complete waste of time."

"I tried to call you."

Fiona pulled out her phone, "Battery, my phone must need to be charged"

"Alright, well I just wanted to let you know I had to reschedule our meeting with Lou for later."

"Why is there something wrong?"

"No, no...I got to go check on a thing with my mom, that's all. It won't take more than an afternoon."

"Your mom?"

"It's probably nothing, just some guys came by the place and asked about me."

"When are you going to go? I'll go with you."

"No, no my old neighborhood is not your kind of place."

"If it's your kind of place...than it's my kind of place." Fiona said with a smile and kissed him.

"Well. O.K. then, I guess your coming." Carlos continued to kiss her back.

* * *

Michael had arrived at his destination and he still had no clue what he was doing there. He was waiting for instructions at a hotel. "_Whenever possible spies like to know what they are getting into before they leave for a mission. When you ship out without orders you can't really train or prepare. All you can do is wait and wonder what's coming." _

Sonya walked through the hotel door, "You're here, did you have a good trip?"

"Yeah, it was fine."

"Good, is everything here?"

"Yes! Everything is here! Sonya, what is the mission?" Michael was short with Sonya and sounded very agitated. He was still upset with the encounter he had with Fiona and constantly being kept in the dark about his missions was beginning to get on his nerves. He never was one to like to be kept in the dark, especially when it came to his missions. Sonya handed Michael a file and asked him, "do you know this man, Roger Steel?"

"I worked with him several times. He was a friend."

"Michael he's been looking into you, into us."

"Well, that's his job, he's a broker between intelligence agencies, he helps negotiate when things go wrong."

"We intercepted this a few days ago. He's already linked you to Randall Burke, Pablo Rios, and now he is looking into a new operative, a female one. He's too close. He has to go."

"Well that can't be necessary." Michael couldn't believe it, here he was again being forced to sell his soul. He couldn't kill a friend.

"It is necessary, I spoke to James myself, it's top priority. Your orders are to make contact with him and tell him you are in town and want to visit. We go in, scout the security, then come up with a plan."

"And then?"

"And then we kill him. He couldn't believe how easily those words came pouring from Sonya's lips. Sometimes she could be as cold as ice. Sonya read the look on Michael's face. "Is this going to be a problem Michael?"

Michael knew his face was giving him away, so he smiled and said, "not a problem, I'll set up the meeting."

Sonya handed him a cell phone and said, "good."

* * *

"_No one is more careful about security than a free-lance spy. When you work in intelligence and you don't have the protection of a government, you have to assume that everyone is a potential enemy, even your closest friends. A careful operative will have security as good as most military installations, vehicles will be searched for explosives, and of course nothing that fires a bullet or sends an electronic signal will make it past the gate. Bottom line is, by the time you get inside the only thing you will be armed with is a warm smile."_

Steel lived in a beautiful villa styled mansion with a gorgeous view of the beach and a massive pool that was staffed with a bar tender and full size bar. Michael could see he had done very well for himself. Roger was hospitable and charming, he was everything that Michael remembered him being. Michael introduced Sonya as his girlfriend and Roger's girlfriend took Sonya on a tour of the estate while Michael and Roger talked for a while.

After some polite small talk, Michael's cover gave him a reason to visit Roger besides catching up with an old acquaintance. He told Steel that he was down and out and looking for a job on his security team. Roger delicately let Michael know there was no way he could hire him because of his past. It was his business to know all kinds of things about the spy world, and he knew about Michael's burn notice, and being in the DR, as well as killing Tom Card. Roger felt bad for his friend and offered him money to get back on his feet. All of Roger's kindness made this hideous job even more difficult. He invited Michael and Sonya to grill some steaks pool side and offered up a Champaign toast to old friends and new ones.

Sonya and Michael discussed how they could penetrate Roger's security and both came to the same conclusion that it would be impossible, so they came up with an alternate plan to get him while he was off of his compound.

Michael's first instinct was to protect his friend Roger, but there was no way he could do that without blowing his cover. Another piece of his soul was fed to the CIA dogs. He could have walked away from James if it wasn't for Strong, and the CIA. They were like vultures stripping away his flesh one job at a time. Betrayal after betrayal, making him hurt the people that he cared for. They thought death was such an easy thing for a killer operative, something to take on and off like an old comfortable jacket, while they got to keep their hands clean. The stains could never be washed away, but now he had to kill a friend and he knew he would be branded by the stench of what they were asking him to do forever.

The CIA was beginning to look no different than any of the other people that he had orders to eliminate. James, Strong, Sonya...all of them and maybe even himself were all the same... Sonya was so beautiful, and young and so willing to kill anyone James sent her after. Sometimes he saw in her a girl that just wanted to be loved, and other times he saw a soulless killer with a thirst for blood. She was willing to mow down anyone that got in her way, or in the way of her organization. Would the madness ever end? He was beginning to think not.

* * *

Michael set up a very risky meeting with Strong just about an hour before he was supposed to hit Roger on the road. He wanted Strong to snatch and grab Roger before he had a chance to take him out. Strong was angry about Michael even calling the meeting in the first place. He told him that when this first started and he recruited him, he told him that he would need the Michael Westen that was willing to do whatever it takes. He also reminded him that Roger was in the "game" and sometimes he got good operatives killed because of his work. Strong would not help him.

Michael had Roger under surveillance and he radioed Sonya to let her know that Roger was on the move with two SUVs and that Roger was in the lead vehicle. Sonya moved into position and put on her mask. Michael was set to detonate the roadside improvised explosive device when Roger's car reached position, but what Michael and Sonya didn't count on, was that Roger would be using a signal jammer. It disabled Michael's ability to set off the device, but it also kept him from warning Sonya. Sonya jumped from her car just before Roger's SUV plowed through it and she rolled to take cover behind a log. Roger's men exited their vehicles and bombarded Sonya with heavy fire. Michael put his mask on and drove his car next to Sonya to get her out of the firing squad.

Their mission had failed and as Sonya often said, "Failure is not an option." They regrouped at the hotel and Sonya was making arrangement to call in an airstrike on Roger's compound. Michael pleaded with her to stop. He didn't want all of those men that worked for Roger to die too. He told her he had a plan that would take out Roger so that he would be the only one that would have to die. Sonya didn't want to listen at first, but Michael convinced her it was possible and he told her if he wasn't successful than she could call in her strike. Sonya gave him an hour to get the job done.

Michael called Roger, " Roger it's Michael..we...we need to talk. I...I'm in a sticky situation, I need your help."

"I don't have the time Michael, I 've got a situation of my own."

"Hold on. There are some men that came after me, men in mask they tried to kill me on the street."

"Wait, black mask?"

"Yeah."

"Was it a two-man hit team packing MP5Ks?"

"Two men, Yes, yes!"

"Michael the same guys came after me."

"What?"

"Where are you? I'll get my guys together, I'll be right there."

"We're in an abandon factory on Loma Vista Avenue, it's a white two-story building. I think the best approach is from the South."

"Loma Vista. o.k. Don't worry Michael, just stay alive until I get there."

"We'll do our best."

Michael quickly set up his sniper riffle and waited for Roger to come.

* * *

_"As a spy you have to get use to deception. Your job is to engage with people, make them your friends, manipulate them, and ultimately destroy them. It's one thing to do it to your enemies, you can think of your target in terms that aren't exactly human, like mission objectives, but when a target is a friend it doesn't matter what you tell yourself, it feels like betrayal."_

"Michael he's here."

Michael's phone rang and he answered his blue tooth. "Roger?"

"It's me I'm here, I'm on the south side with my men. Tell me where you are. (all Roger heard was silence) Where are you? I don't see the team." Roger was sending his own men into the building to save Michael and he had some stay with him.

"Take the shot!" Sonya said sternly.

"Michael?" Roger was trying to figure out where Michael was. Michael couldn't stand what he was about to do. Roger was there to HELP him, he was his friend!

"Michael TAKE THE SHOT!" Michael had Roger in his cross hairs.

"Michael are you still there?"

"I'm here Roger...and I'm sorry" Michael took the shot that ended his friend's life. The loud fire of his sniper rifle pierced his ears, it was the same sound he heard when Nate had died. For the first time he had truly sympathized with Tyler Grey. He knew that sound would be burned into his conscious forever and he was left with the reality of what he had just done. He murdered a friend.

Michael swore to himself he would never be in the position to purposely take an innocent person's life after the fiasco with Larry so many years ago. The screams of strangers still bombarded his ears when sleep came and the night fell, but now he knew that the image of Roger falling to the ground; and his crimson-blood soaking through his crisp-white shirt would scorch his eyes and be imprinted on him forever. He could never wash that image from his mind, and he knew in that moment that peace would never be his to know again. He was disgusted with himself, and he wondered if the freedom he was trying to secure for his friends and family could ever be worth all the sinister things he had been forced to do; and he wondered how much longer he could go on feeling like a vampire feeding off of the blood of others to survive...

* * *

Fiona was on her way with Carlos to his old neighborhood. He never really talked that much about where he was from, but then again neither did she. They definitely entered a different world when they got to his old stomping grounds. They parked in front of Mateo's house, he was an old friend from the neighborhood that Carlos used to run around with. Mateo kind of ran things in the neighborhood now, and Carlos knew he would have the information he needed about what was going on. Fiona didn't know it at the time but Carlos was with the Latin Syndicate gang growing up before he got out of the his old neighborhood.

"You wait in the car and I'll go talk to him." Fiona smiled and gave him the look that said no way are you leaving me here.

"Do you think I'll be any safer in the car?"

"Let's go"

The music was thumping and several guys were watching guard over Mateo's house in the front yard. As soon as Carlos and Fiona approached the house a tatted up banger met them at the fence. He lifted his shirt and showed them he was strapped. Carlos flashed him their gang sign and told the guy to tell Mateo that Carloco was there to see him. Mateo was sitting in the backyard partying with some of his homies from the hood. He looked up and saw Carlos and greeted him with a warm hug. Mateo looked Fiona up and down and commented on how sexy she was.

Fiona couldn't stand the guy, but she had her poker face on.

"How you been Mateo?"

"Well, you know we can't all leave the hood, go to college, and come back with a model chick, but we make out alright."

"Hey come on, I still have a family here, I didn't turn my back on..." Mateo interrupted him and patted Carlos in a brotherly way.

"Hey man, I'm proud of you, you made it to the other side."

"Well, I appreciate that... I came down because some guys rolled up on my mom's house and they were looking for me. It sounded like there was some kind of trouble. They were in a truck."

"I heard about that."

"What was it?" The entire tone of the conversation changed. What started out as a warm friendly greeting was starting to feel like a beat down was about to happen.

"It's Nando, he knows man."

"What does he know?"

"He knows you snitched on him back in 03, and got him busted for that coke deal. It put him on ice for ten years. You got a bounty on your head."

"Alright, well, we're going to get out of here. It was good seeing you. We're gonna pounce man." Carlos grabbed Fiona's hand and started walking towards the car. All of Mateo's thugs started surrounding Carlos.

"Can't let you do that man. I wish you would have stayed out of the hood Poppy, I really do."

"You can't do this!"

"Bro, I have to do this! You got any idea what Nando would do to me if I let you go? What he would do to my family? I'm sorry bro. You should've thought about that before you became a Rata!" One of Mateo's guys punched Carlos in the face.

"Don't even try it Homie. Nando wants you alive, but he'll take you dead!" Fiona was looking for a way out and she started screaming and crying.

"Oh my god! Carlos, please don't hurt him! Please!" She was acting like a scared school girl and walking towards Mateo. "Please don't hurt him!"

"Back off Bitch!" Fiona surprised Mateo and punched him in his face and grabbed his gun, while she did that Carlos hit another guy and grabbed his gun.

Fiona had the gun pointed to Mateo's head and had him by his neck. "Drop your guns or you'll be scraping his brains off of your shoes!" Carlos and Fiona were retreating backwards towards the car. "Do it! All the bangers put down their guns. "Mateo here, is going to be walking us to our car. You make one move and he dies! Questions? "

They both made it back to the car and drove straight to the police station.

* * *

Carlos was talking to a detective Halloway and was asking why Nando was out of prison. He was supposed to be put away until 2040. She explained that Nando threw enough money at lawyers until one of them got him out on a technicality.

Fiona questioned her about how he knew to come after Carlos. She said she couldn't prove it, but she thought that Nando paid off a dirty D.A. for the information on who sold him out. The detective was trying to get Carlos to give up the name of a person that saw Nando kill a drug courier almost ten years ago. She was trying to convince him they could put Nando away if his witness would testify to what he saw. Carlos told her there was no way he could do that. He spent the last ten years protecting the guy's name and promised him that he would always keep his name out of it. Detective Halloway made it clear that it would be the only way they could take Nando down, and get him off the streets. Fiona urged him to do what he had to do, he said he would talk to the guy, and try to get him to testify.

Fiona and Carlos met with Jesse and Sam. Fiona wanted them to help grab the guy that Carlos needed to talk to. He wouldn't return any of Carlos' calls and he was hiding out on the down low because he didn't want to talk to anyone about what had happened ten years ago. He was afraid that his family would be put in danger if he came forward.

Jesse and Sam agreed to help and they came up with a plan to talk with Lloyd Ritchey, the man Carlos was protecting, without any of the neighbors suspecting anything. They approached the apartment building that Lloyd was living in as health care workers working for the health department. They handed out fake flyers and made their way up to Lloyds apartment. They asked if they could come in to check for a gas leak. Once they were inside they explained that they were there on behalf of Carlos Cruz and that the guy that was coming after Carlos would be coming after him next if he didn't let them take him to safety. Lloyd wasn't too happy with them and refused to coöperate. He picked up a baseball bat and started swinging at Jesse and Sam. Jesse finally got him in a headlock and when Lloyd passed out, they picked him up, and told the neighbors that he had a seizure and took him to their car.

* * *

Sam and Jesse brought Lloyd to Madeline's house where Fiona and Carlos tried to convince him to come forward, but they weren't having any luck. Madeline talked to Lloyd and explained how she understood how hard it was to do the right thing when you're scared. He could tell that Madeline was speaking from experience, and she convinced him to go to the police. Lloyds only condition was that he would get in writing that he and his family would be protected. Carlos said he could arrange that.

Carlos set up a meeting with detective Halloway. Lloyd was still apprehensive about meeting with the detective until Carlos could negotiate witness protection with a signed agreement from the D.A.

Sam, Fiona, Jesse and Lloyd were hanging back and Fiona was watching through binoculars as Carlos facilitated the deal. Detective Halloway seemed very upset when she found out that the witness wasn't with Carlos. Fiona watched as another car pulled up to the meeting. Both cars were now blocking Fiona's full view and she couldn't see what was going on.

When the car door opened Carlos couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Nando step out from the vehicle. Carlos told the detective that she was a trader to her badge and Nando hit Carlos in the face. Fiona could only see detective Halloway and didn't know that Nando had Carlos. Carlos told the detective that he paid her good money to deliver Carlos and the witness. Nando was beginning to get aggressive with the detective and he called her bitch. She told him that he better watch his tone because she still had the power to arrest him.

Nando had his hand on his gun, "Are you threatening me?"

"Just back off! Detective Halloway reached for her gun and Nando shot her. They all heard the shot and Fiona saw detective Halloway's body hit the ground. Nando stepped into sight from behind the cars and Fiona saw that it was him that had just shot the detective. Lloyd ran away when he saw the deal fall apart.

Sam, Jesse and Fiona followed the car that took Carlos and of course Fiona was driving. They reached Nando's headquarters and all of his men were carrying guns. Jesse suggested they call the cops because he knew they would never survive attempting a rescue. Fiona told him that if Nando saw any cops, Carlos would be dead because he witnessed Nando kill detective Halloway. Just about that time Fiona's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Is this Fiona?"

"Nando?"

"I got your number from a mutual friend. "I'm having a Barbecue in his honor. He want's to say hi." Nando turned on a blow torch. Carlos was tied in a chair and his face was bleeding. He began to scream when Nando turned the torch on his flesh.

"Wha...what are you doing? Fiona was panicking. "Stop it!"

"Oh you want it to stop? Well, you can make it stop anytime." Nando said, sarcastically. "All I want is peace of mind, but Carlos doesn't want to give it to me. I want that witness!"

"So you can kill him?"

"Better him than Carlos." Nando fired up the torch and Fiona could hear Carlos screaming again in the background.

"I'll get you the witness, just give me some time."

"Oh time...you got all the time in the world, but Carlos here he's got until 5:00 O'clock."

* * *

Sam and Jesse were questioning Fiona about giving up Lloyd to Nando. She told them that she was just buying time because they only had until 5:00. Sam told her that only gave them about an hour and twenty minutes. "What are we supposed to do in that amount of time?"

"I don't know, Sam!" Fiona paused for a moment, "Maybe Michael does." She wasn't happy about calling him, but she was resigned to the fact that if Michael couldn't help them than Carlos was going to die.

Michael and Sonya were back from their mission and were unloading their gear at Michael's loft when Michael's phone rang. "It's me."

"Fi?" Michael knew it was Fiona, but the questioning tone in his voice was more about how she sounded. He could tell something was wrong. When Sonya seen Michael's face she knew something was wrong too. She knew Fiona and Michael had a deep connection, and it showed up in Michael's face and voice anytime he was talking to her. Sonya went back to what she was doing, she couldn't stand their friendship and didn't want to listen to him talking to her.

"Are you in Miami?"

"We just got back, What's wrong?"

"Carlos is in trouble and I need your help."

"What can I do?"

"I...I 'm not sure."

"He's being held by a gangster in south Miami."

"Maybe Sonya, or the people she works with, or their resources?"

"Sonya?" As soon as Sonya heard her name she turned around and gave Michael's conversation her full attention. I could ask her, if that's what you really want."

"Fiona sounded defeated, "I don't see another way."

"Tell me everything I need to know."

When Michael was done talking to Fiona, he gave Sonya all the information he had on Carlos' situation. He hoped it was enough to help her in her attempt to help Fiona. Michael got in his Charger and drove to Nando's HQ where Sam, Jesse and Fiona were waiting.

"Did you talk to Sonya?"

"She's talking to her people now. They're working on it.

"Sam said, "working on it? What does that mean can they deal with Nando or not?"

"I think so, they're contacting some of their people in the drug trade. They're gonna go above his head to his supplier."

Jesse wanted to know, "How long is that gonna take?"

"I don't know they're gonna call me when they have something."

"Michael, Carlos is running out of time."

"We just need to buy a little more time. They'll come through."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because they owe me. I did a job for them that...they'll come through."

Jesse wanted to know, "o.k. practical question, how are we going to buy Carlos some more time?"

"He wants a witness? Lets give him one."

"Mike, we don't even know where Lloyd is."

"Nando has never seen him, right Fi?"

"No."

"Take me in. I'll be the witness, we can buy ourselves some time with that."

"What if they don't go for it?"

"Than I will have called in a favor for nothing because we'll all be dead."

Sonya was working behind the scenes to make sure that Carlos would be safe. It was a chance to make sure Fiona kept Carlos around and prove to Michael that she and her organization cared for him. The last thing she wanted was Fiona unattached.

Fiona staged Michael to look like he was a prisoner. Fiona called Nando outside the building he was keeping Carlos at. "Fiona Glenanne, just in time. You got my witness?"

"Yes, I do, but I would prefer to hand him myself to you in person."

"Little girl you are in no position to make any demands."

"I think I am if you want your witness. You see I have a gun pointed to his head, a head that contains all the answers to all your questions. So if you don't want all your answers splattered all over the place, Then let us in right now!" The door opened and Fiona marched the "witness" into Nando.

"Carlos." Nando was snapping his fingers to get Carlos' attention. He had almost passed out from the pain. Nando grabbed him by the back of the hair, "wake up! I want to show you something." Carlos was soaked in blood. "You put up with all that pain to protect a name, but now I don't need a name. You must be Fiona."

"Smart man, you can let him go now." We'll see about that, because I think you might be trying to play me."

"Get your hands' off me!"

"Shut up!" Nando was looking at Michael now, "so you're the pendejo that saw me cap that dude ten years ago, Huh? Got to admit it's kind of funny, it seems to me a white boy like you would have been noticed hanging around little Managua. I guess the real question is who the hell are you? Cause my guess is you aint no witness!"

"You're right Nando I'm not a witness. I'm a messenger, and this is my message...You don't know what your up against. You have no idea, what you are up against! So, I'm going to give you some advice, you let the three of us go now, and when we're gone, you leave town. And when I say leave, I mean forever!"

Nando started laughing, "this guy, I mean I don't know whether he's stupid or crazy or both? Some balls though, big talk from an unarmed man, with a hundred pound pixie as his back up."

"I have friends."

"Oh, you got friends, huh? Chacho, he's got friends." Chacho hit Michael in the back of the head with a gun. He fell to the floor.

"Friends? Well, where are they? Huh? Because I don't see these friends of yours. You wanna know what I think? I think you got nothing! That's what I think."

"Michael started laughing and he continued to laugh when he stood up from the floor. "What are you laughing at, Loco?"

"You think I would walk in here with nothing? Michael was still laughing. Nando, Nando, Nando, Michael quit laughing and got very serious, "You're dead, you just don't know it yet!"

"Chacho, shoot this fool." Fiona tried to run to Michael but one of the men restrained her. Chacho pointed his gun at Michael. Michael's cell phone was ringing and it continued to ring. "You might want to answer that." Nando nodded to Chacho to answer the phone. "Yo, who is this?"

"Nando, you're not going to believe it, it's Lopez."

"Lopez? Lopez from?" "Columbia. He said, to put him on speaker."

"Ricardo, Que pasa?"

"Nando, forgive me for interrupting."

"No, no problem. What can I do? What's going on?"

"The man who owns this phone, is he there? Is he alive?"

"Yeah, he's fine." Nando couldn't believe he was hearing from Lopez and he couldn't keep his eyes off of Michael.

"Good, listen to me carefully. You're going to let him go, him and his friends. Do you understand?" Fiona was watching Carlos bent over from pain, bleeding from his face and mouth.

"Ricardo, No, I can't. Listen, you don't understand. These guys can pin a murder on me. I have to handle it!"

"Don't worry Nando, I'll handle it. Chacho, do you know who I am? What I can do to your familia, to you?"

"Yes, sir, Mr. Lopez."

"So, if I ask you to do something, you will do it. No matter what, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Ricardo, Por favor."

"Shut up! I'm talking to Chacho!"

"Chacho, I want you to shoot Nando, Now!"

"What? Ricardo Por Favor!"

"Chacho, Chacho!" He shot him just as Lopez asked him to do.

"Thank you Chacho. Now make sure your guest get home safely."

Chacho told Fiona, "Get them out of here."

* * *

Later, Sonya met up with Michael. They talked about what happened with Fiona and her boyfriend. Sonya also told Michael that James wanted to see them both next week. She told him that James had plans for him and to get some rest because he had earned it.

A couple of days had passed since Michael had helped Fiona with Carlos. Fiona was coming home and opened her front door to find Carlos sitting at the table with his bags packed. She wanted to know what he was doing and he told her that he was moving out. He told her that he was going to stay with a friend and that it was what was best for both of them.

"Does this have anything to do with what happened with Nando?"

"Yeah, you know that call that Michael got, do you know why that happened?" He gave her a newspaper article from Bogotá. He told her to open the folded paper. She was staring at a photo while he explained that two days ago at the exact same time Nando got his call, a helicopter gun ship opened fire on an estate outside of Cartagena. You know who owned that estate? Ricardo Lopez, the same guy that called Nando. Seven people died Fi."

"I-I was trying to save you. I-I.."

"And I thank you for that. But I'm going to have to live with that for the rest of my life and wonder if it was all worth it."

Carlos got up and was almost out the door when Fiona said, "I love you."

Carlos turned around and said, "I love you too Fi, but you're traveling a path with Michael. You always have, and I can't go down it with you. "

Fiona was crying and barely spoke in a whisper, "I don't have a choice."

"Yes, you do, and you've made it." Fiona started sobbing. She knew Carlos was right, she decided to walk a path with Michael, a long time ago. Somehow she had detoured from that path. When Carlos walked out the door, she was crying for many reasons, but one thing became crystal clear. She may have loved Carlos, but she was still in love with Michael. Carlos had helped sustain her when she was lost and alone, and for that she would always be grateful to him.

* * *

Sonya was dropped off at Michael's loft and Michael came down the stairs to meet her. She had a duffel bag in her hand and he grabbed it from her so he could carry it up the stairs for her. She thought it was such a gentlemanly thing to do, she wasn't used to men doing things like that for her. In her world she was always proving that she was equal too or better than any male operative in the field. She was strong, capable, able to handle herself in dangerous situations, but it felt nice to be treated like a lady.

Michael would never know how that smallest gesture of kindness could make her feel so feminine. She enjoyed Michael's company, especially in between jobs. She didn't have to carry the weight of running a mission and she was able to let her guard down just a little bit. Even the slightest crack in her defenses felt nice to her because she was ALWAYS guarded, she had to be in her line of work. Michael was the first person to ever penetrate the fortress she had built around herself. He was different from anyone she had ever met before. He was charming, intelligent, and more capable than any operative she had ever known besides James and somehow he still had a soul.

She had been looking forward to this assignment ever since she found out about it a couple of weeks ago. She knew they would be alone and she wanted to find out if he was still interested in her. She thought the last mission they had been on together may have changed everything between them. She knew Michael was upset about killing Roger even if he pretended it didn't bother him. She was proud of him that he could put away his personal feelings and be loyal to their cause.

As she headed up the stairs she wasn't sure if she was really ready to find out the answer to her question because she knew she would be very disappointed if he didn't want to be with her anymore. She managed a seductive smile and told him that she hoped he was well rested because this job could take a while. The look and tone of her voice did not go unnoticed by Michael, he simply smiled and followed her up the stairs.

Michael made some coffee while Sonya was setting things up. "So you want to tell me what we're doing?"

"We are making fake passports and visas and the usual travel papers."

"Alright."

"You and I are going to be traveling as a couple. Elliot and Tricia Bronson. We have been married for a while so you should probably get memorizing our bios."

"That's a lot of trouble for a single trip."

"It's not just a trip, Michael, we are joining James on a very important meeting."

"And that meeting is?"

"That's for James to tell you. We should get started."

"_Once you develop a relationship with a target, you can begin to use that relationship to get information you need. If you're close enough you can make an interrogation feel like nothing more than innocent questions from a trusted friend."_

It was nightfall and Michael and Sonya were still working on documents. Michael wanted some information but he brought a little fun to his inquiry. "Is it in Europe?" Sonya was peering at him over the table and gave him a look that said you will never get any information from me so just quit.

Michael turned on the charm and in a very disarming way made his questions feel like a harmless game of cat and mouse. "Is it in Asia? Is the meeting in Pakistan? India? China? Come on Sonya, I'm building cover I.D.s in the dark. If the meeting is in Tel Aviv and I say we were just in Cario..."

"Alright, stop." She put her finger up against his mouth to make him stop talking. She smiled and said, "O.k. it's in Latin America, and that is ALL you get. There you have taken blood from a stone. Are you happy?"

"Happier."

Sonya held up the passport she was working on and stared at it for a moment. Michael thought she looked beautiful especially with the soft glow of the candles lighting up her face. "What is it? Is there something wrong with the watermark?"

"No, the watermark is good."

It's umm...it's just kind of funny." Michael thought that she looked very sad for it to be funny. "Tricia Bronson has been to Rio three times, Sonya Lebedenko, never... I've always wanted to go. Almost went one time, and then the job got in the way. Job always gets in the way." Sonya looked down and away from Michael before she found comfort in his warm eyes. She didn't want to let him see her eyes getting watery. Michael walked around the table they were working on to be closer to her. " Well, I've been to Rio and there are jobs there too. Maybe you and I can could work together there one day. " Michael pushed her hair behind her ear and touched her face softly. Sonya was so moved by this man, she had never known such intense feelings until now. She grabbed his wrist and collapsed into his hand. He was so tender with her. " I would like that."

_"Sometimes it's not enough to be a targets friend. Sometimes you have to go further. When you share a targets bed, when they trust you enough to sleep beside you, it's a simple thing to get whatever information you need. Sometimes that information comes with a price. Often the only way to convince someone that you care for them is to actually start caring for them. No matter how important the mission is, no matter how much you believe in your cause, it feels like what it is, a complete betrayal of someone's trust."_

Michael knew the timing was perfect and he leaned in to kiss Sonya. She was more than receptive to his kiss. Michael wished there was another way to get what he needed but seducing Sonya was his only option. He tried to stay professional and distance himself emotionally from her. That was easy to do when she was ordering him to kill a friend, but there was something so child-like in Sonya that made him feel sorry for her, that made him want to protect her, especially when he saw how sad she was tonight.

Sonya had been there for him the night she medicated the gaping wound Fiona had left him with. Fiona had punctured his heart when she told him it was over. Sonya knew he was broken that night, and she had used her love and her body to try and mend him from the pain he was experiencing. Their love-making had been intense and passionate, but tonight Michael wanted it to be different. Sonya had wounds too, Michael recognized what they were because he used to be just like her before Fiona had healed him with her love.

Sonya had a lack of any real connection to any kind of normal life. Her whole existence was consumed by the job. He didn't know what kept her bound to her organization. Sometimes he thought James wouldn't allow her to leave, or perhaps she had no where else to go. She never talked about having a family, he thought maybe her parents had died. Sometimes he would see a small glimpse of someone who wanted out, but then he would see her drive and determination to make sure a mission never failed, and her ability to kill strangers without remorse. He knew she wouldn't belong in any other place, doing any other thing than what she was doing now.

Michael knew making love to her again would sell his cover even deeper, but he didn't want to think about that right now. He wanted to show her, even if it was just for tonight that there was something more than the job. Tonight he could make it real for both of them. Tonight there was no mission, no lies, no seduction. Tonight he used his own emotions, his own feelings, and he made love to her slowly and tenderly. He pushed the mission aside and just let the moment be about two people who needed each other. He started kissing her eyes, nose, cheeks, and mouth, He gently caressed her and she felt safe in the strength of his embrace. He moved her blond silky hair to expose her delicate neck to his lips, he kissed her tenderly on her throat and shoulders and moved his way down to her stomach. Her head was spinning from the way he made her feel. When they were through fulfilling each other's needs and desires, she nestled into Michael's chest and quickly fell asleep from the exhaustion of their passion.

Michael waited until Sonya was in a deep sleep and then he quietly got up from the bed. He knew there was no coming back from what he was about to do. He took Sonya's phone and uploaded all the information on to a hard drive. When he was through he got back into their bed. He was already regretting the moment Sonya would find out that he used her to get to James. He tried to close his eyes and get some sleep, but sleep would not come.

* * *

Sonya had to leave and Michael walked her down the stairs to say goodbye. He knew she felt different about him this morning. She had let he guard down, he could see it in her eyes, it was the way she looked at him.

Michael called Strong to let him know that it was done, he got the information they needed. Strong was already celebrating and when he told Michael, "Good job lady-killer" he wanted to punch him in the face. Betrayal never set well with Michael, but it was part of a spy's life. Only this time the betrayal wasn't for the good of humanity, it was for the good of him and his friends, this betrayal would cut the deepest and he felt sorry for making Sonya trust him. Strong asked Michael, "Are you ready to end this?" "Believe me, I'm ready!"

* * *

Sam, Jesse, and Michael were all with Strong at his headquarters. "The data you ripped from Sonya's phone was a gold mine!"

"So we know where James is?"

"No, but for the first time we know where he's going to be before he gets there."

"Your meeting is going down tomorrow in Veracruz, Mexico. Sonya booked two jeeps and an armoured transport. Now, we believe you are going to be with James for about two hours, which is a tight window, but it's big enough. Sonya scouted a route from the airport to a location in the southwest quarter of the town, but you're never gonna make it." Strong was showing them the details on a map, "because when you get to this corridor here, We drop the hammer!" Strong could hardly contain his enthusiasm.

Sam spoke up, "So you're gonna hit a convoy in broad daylight, on foreign soil?

"Something like that, why?"

Jesse joined the conversation, "For starters how does our friends south of the border feel about that?"

"They would definitely frown on it if they knew about it."

Michael added, "I'm not worried about the Mexican government. I'm worried about James, I'll be sitting right next to him! What happens if it goes wrong?"

"He's never gonna know it was us until it's too late. The extraction team I hired to do he grab could not be farther from CIA personnel."

Jesse didn't like the sound of that, "we're going freelance now? Who are these guys?"

"Let me worry about that, they can handle it."

Michael knew Strong wasn't being rational, "Strong, we are rushing this. There are just too many variables; the location, the timetable."

"I have been after James for almost a decade. I'm not going to let the chance to grab him slip through my hands because you think we're rushing things! Michael, we made a deal, and now the bill has come due. If you want your old life back, you are gonna have to trust me."

Sam knew that Michael was backed against a corner, "Don't worry brother, we'll be there to watch your back."

* * *

_"As a spy you get used to the idea that every successful operation comes at a price. Sometimes it's lives lost other times it's livelihoods ruined. Then there are other cost that are more personal, less obvious, but the pain is just as real." _

"Michael what are you doing here?"

"I'm leaving town for a job, and I need your help."

Fiona scoffed, "Do you have any idea how much your work with James and his network has cost me?" Michael nodded his head yes. "I mean do you even care?"

"I'm gonna take him down Fi. All of them James, Sonya...for good. That's what this mission is. James has his men are watching my mom around the clock, and when I betray him..."

"Yeah."

"I'm asking you to keep an eye on her. You're the only one I trust to protect her and Charlie. Please Fi."

"Finish this."

* * *

Michael was unsure how everything was going to play out, but in the end this was what he had been waiting for, what he had sacrificed everything for, and he was ready for this to be over, or was he? James and Sonya kept occupying his mind. He actually felt bad that they were about to be captured because of his betrayal. Speeding down the causeway in his Charger he was trying to clear his head. "Why in the hell do I feel so bad? I don't understand what's happening to me. This is ridiculous! Pull yourself together," he told himself. He felt like he was being torn in two. His head was straight about what needed to be done, but his heart didn't know how to handle it. His apprehension didn't make any sense to him, and he thought his head might actually explode from thinking about the weight of it all.

Michael hadn't had anything to drink for months now, but tonight he needed a good night sleep, and a six-pack of beer was the only way sleep was coming. Whiskey would have been too much, he needed to be on his A game tomorrow, but a few beers would take the edge off tonight. He stopped at the nearest gas station and then headed for the loft.

* * *

Michael and Sonya were waiting for James to arrive at the airport.

"Welcome to Veracruz."

"Thank you my dear, the vehicles are set?" Sonya nodded. "Excellent! Michael, good to see you. This is a big day for us." James said enthusiastically.

"Happy to be a part of it." Michael got in the car with Sonya and James and they took off to do whatever it was that they were supposed to do there. Michael still had no idea what James and Sonya's purpose was in Veracruz. He did know however, why he was there.

_"No matter how much you've trained, not matter how much you've planned, there's always anxiety in the moments before you capture a target. Most things are simply out of your control. Your operations team may be monitoring the situation, but they're usually too far away to do much, but watch. Your extraction team is there to do one job, and one job only, to acquire the targets, which effectively leaves you alone. At the end of the day all you can do is smile, play along, and try not to get killed when the shooting starts."_

"So, what is in Veracruz besides fresh seafood, or is that classified? "

James answered, "What's happening today has been years in the making. Let's just say our little organization is about to make a giant leap forward."

Strong was giving orders to all the teams on the ground. "One more time Alpha team, Michael is to be treated as an enemy combatant until he is in our custody, and on his way back to the states."

Jesse was watching the monitors closely, "O.k. go time people!"

Strong was waiting and watching too. "The targets are approaching the corridor." Strong could hardly contain himself. He had been dreaming of this day for so long.

James was looking behind his shoulder in the car and had an uneasy look on his face. Michael asked, "what is it?"

"It's just a feeling. Tight space, almost nobody on the street, this is the first block that we've passed without vendors." Sonya looked at James, "you don't think..."

James spoke to his driver, "Radio the others, tell them to keep their eyes peeled."

* * *

Strong's alpha team informed him that their contact was in sight. Strong started the count down 10,9,8,7,6,5,...3,2,1 The first car hit the IED on the street and the car stopped. Michael's car stopped behind it. Shots were being fired everywhere.

Sam spoke up, "What are you doing Strong? I mean is your extraction team trying to disable the convoy or just shoot it to kingdom come?"

"They're trying to make sure we get James Kendrick. James ordered Michael and Sonya to get down, "We got four shooters on the rooftops, two on the south side. We'll take them out first. Ready?"

Michael said, "James, wait, wait. They're only shooting at our engine blocks. I think they want us alive."

"We will not be captured!" Said Sonya.

"They got the drop on us. If we step out of here with guns hot..."

James let Michael know, "If it is a capture mission, they won't shoot to kill. Lets go!" James took out two shooters on the roof while Sonya was laying down cover fire. Michael couldn't believe he was going to have to convincingly try to stop his own team from capturing them. He knew if they did make it out alive his cover would be blown if he didn't engage in the fire fight. James screamed over the rounds being fired as a vehicle was approaching them, "INCOMING!"

"James there's another SUV coming behind us."

"They're cutting us off. There's a grenade launcher in the back of the other vehicle."

Michael told James, "The engine is on fire it will blow up before you get there."

James shouted his orders, "Check the lead vehicle for wounded! We're not leaving anyone behind! Cover me!" James grabbed the grenade launcher while his team was covering him. Sonya shouted "Go, you're clear!" One of his team member said, "They're closing in." James saw the car coming and used the launcher on it and the car exploded. James ordered everyone to, "Move out!"

Michael was on the run with James and his crew. Michael had to hijack a car to escape in, and so did James and Sonya. Michael manged to grab and hide the cell phone of the woman he stole the car from. He kept the phone on and threw it under the seat so Strong's team could track and locate them.

Strong was seething! "Alpha team took a beating, seven are down."

Sam answered him, "How many times have we told you? These people are better than you think,"

Jesse joined in the conversation. "Hey, the police just got a call about a stolen car in Costa Verde. A blue Nissan Sedan."

Strong replies smugly, "Well that narrows it down to about half the cars in Mexico."

"The victim said the car jacker which matched Michael's description grabbed her phone and threw it in the car."

"Atta boy Mike," said Sam grinning from ear to ear.

Strong started barking orders at his men, "Find out who that woman is. Track down that cell signal, and I mean like ten minutes ago." Strong looked over at Sam and Jesse. "Come on guys, we're going for a ride in the chopper."

* * *

Sam answered a phone call on the way out to the chopper, "Yeah, Fi we're a little busy here."

Fiona was looking through the scope of her sniper riffle. "Sam, what the hell is going on here? I'm outside Madeline's. James' guys have been sitting in their car all day and now all of a sudden they're buzzing around. Looks like they just got some bad news."

"We tried to grab James, but he slipped through our net. He must have called them."

"They're going towards the house. Do you think they know Michael's betrayed them?"

"Yeah, look that's just the thing. We don't know if Mike's cover has been blown or not."

Panic was setting in Fiona's voice. Michael left it up to her to protect his family. "Well, we gotta make a call, cause if it has Madeline's dead."

"And if it hasn't...you shooting a couple of James' guys is just going to tip em off, and then Mike is dead." James' men knocked on Madeline's door. "Look Fi, don't shoot, don't shoot. We gotta bet on Mike that somehow he kept his cover."

"All right, I'm holding off for now, but if they so much as look at her sideways, I'm pulling the trigger." All Fiona could see from her vantage point was that James' men had knocked at the door and now they were pushing the door open. "They're forcing their way in." Madeline let them in and waved Fiona off.

"Fi? Did you do it? What the hell happened?"

"She waved me off. Next time something happens down there-"

"Believe me, you'll be our first call."

* * *

Strong was flying with Jesse and Sam in the helicopter when they got a hit on the cell phone Michael used to help them find his location. Strong radioed Alpha team. "Alpha Team we have a visual on the targets. They are in a caravan driving North on Highway 150D, just past the Bustamante exit.

_"There's a reason that helicopters are the search vehicles of choice for every law enforcement agency in the world. When you can travel 150 miles an hour on any axis, with 60 miles of visibility, there's virtually nowhere for your target to hide. The downside of using a helicopter is when your surrounded by nothing but sky, there's nowhere for you to hide either."_

James was watching the helicopter following them while Sonya was driving. When he saw an underpass he told Sonya to pull over. Michael pulled up along side James in the other car.

"Why are we stopping?"

"There's a chopper following us. Best chance to lose it is to split up."

"We're stronger together if we split up-"

"It's a risk we're going to have to take. Now there was a boat yard we passed about three miles ago, double back, get yourselves a boat and head up the coast. We'll find the next Marina and get one of our own."

"How will we find you?"

James threw Michael a cell phone and told him, "I'll contact you and give you directions to the safe house. Let's move out."

Michael couldn't believe how bad Strong botched up the grab, he sat for just a moment when James' guy who was sitting next to him said, "you heard him...let's move it."

Jesse pointed out from the helicopter that they were on the move again. "Damn it their splitting up. Alpha Team targets are now heading in separate directions. You follow the signal from the cell phone, we'll stay on the truck."

A few of James' men were with Michael and they made it to the boat house repair shop.

"Find a boat?"

"Nothing that will make it in the water," said Michael.

"There's a trawler in the boat house. The wiring is shot but Mark's seeing if he can get it started. Come on. " Michael and James' men went to the boat house and heard the trawler trying to turn over.

"How's it going?"

"It's getting there."

Michael asked Owen to help him find some fuel. There was a creaking noise. Owen asked Michael, "Do you hear that?" Michael snapped his fingers trying to get the attention of the guy on the other side of the boat house. "Alex, cover the door."

Alpha Team converged on the men and began shooting them. They out numbered them and killed most of James' men. Owen was with Michael and he was about to put himself in harm's way and continue to fight, Michael hit him on the back of the head with his pistol and knocked him out. Michael was still behind cover when he shouted "Alpha Team, I'm a friendly, don't shoot!"

"Come on out Michael, we're all clear." Michael knew that voice sounded familiar and he couldn't believe what his ears were hearing. He thought his senses were betraying him. He stood up just in time to see the back of a man shooting one of James's men that was already down.

"He was down! This is a capture mission!"

The man turned around, smiled and waved at Michael, "Hey."

Michael couldn't believe that his eyes were confirming what his ears had already told him was true. "Simon Escher, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Relax Michael, we're on the same side...You were waiting for Alpha Team, I'm Alpha Team."

Michael was pacing back and forth, "No, NO! I captured you...I put you away Simon, this makes no sense."

"But it makes all the sense in the world. Simon was taping up Owen. Use that big brain of yours. The fact that you captured me makes me the perfect man for this job. You're deep cover." Simon rolled his eyes as if explaining it to Michael was such a mock burden. "Whoever ran the extraction team had to be somebody who didn't work for the CIA. Somebody who you'd never work with. Somebody like me."

"Yeah, you're right, I'd never work with you. I'm gonna call this in."

"What do you think they're gonna say?" He said sarcastically. "This ain't my first rodeo. They got me out of the box almost as soon as you put me in it. Yeah, boy, I've been working for them for like, almost two years now. Off the books naturally. They drop me in hot spots when they need someone to get their hands dirty."

"There's no way they'd let you out of prison after everything you've done."

"Wake up Michael." Simon starting walking towards him and Michael pointed his gun at him. "Guys like us, we're weapons. As long as we're useful someone is always gonna want to take us out to play. Now I'm willing to let bygones be bygones but you're going to have to get that gun out of my face."

"Alpha Team do you copy?"

"That's the boss man now, O.k with you if I answer?" Michael motioned for him to go ahead and answer the call.

"I'm here Mr. Strong, I just killed a couple of James' men. Unfortunately I lost my team in the process."

"What about James and Sonya?"

Simon looked at Michael and expressed in his face how stupid Strong was. "I'm guessing they're in that truck you are following now."

"We're in the Calevera Marina. I need you to get your ass over here as soon as possible."

"Love to, right after Michael decides whether or not he's going to shoot me. Just give us one second. What's it gonna be slugger? You gonna complete this mission or not?" Michael was contemplating killing the psycho right here and right now. He couldn't wrap his brain around Simon being on the same mission as him. What the hell was the CIA thinking? He lowered his gun.

"I think he's coming around, so how do we get to this marina?"

"Ten miles south, down Calle Ocho. Radio when you're near."

"Copy", he said with a huge grin.

* * *

Sam was talking to Strong in the helicopter, "It looks like James wants to play a little hide and seek."

"Alright, circle and descend."

"_Since the Vietnam war, helicopters have given technologically superior forces a huge advantage on the battlefield. In almost every situation your targets only move is to run and hide, but everyone from the Viet Cong to the Mujahideen has learned, a helicopters main defense is its maneuverability, and if they can force you into hovering over a tight space, live a valley between two mountains or an alley between two buildings they can make you an easy target. _

James and Sonya got out of their car and started firing at the helicopter. Bullets were ricocheting off of the metal and the helicopter was taking fire.

Jesse yelled, "Heads up!"

Strong told the pilot, "Get us out of here!"

"We're loosing fuel I have to set her down."

"Alpha Team, we got a problem. James and Sonya just lit us up. We're gonna have to land."

"Sorry to hear that...umm...buckle up?" Simon loved toying with Strong. He turned to Michael, "So much for our air support. Sounds like James and Sonya will be long gone before we get to that Marina. Any idea where they're headed?"

"Safe house, outside of town. I don't know where it is."

"Well, I read James' file and one thing I do know is that he has a soft spot for his friends. If the situation is dire enough, there's know way he leaves you hanging." Simon walked towards Owen. "Oh, oh I got it. Tell James that all hell has broken loose. Tell him he needs to get here now." Simon looked over at Owen, "Hey buddy." Simon was taunting Michael. "What you got stage fright? Go on."

"James, James it's Michael. Are you there?"

"I said I would contact you. What's going on?"

"We got an emergency here. They got the drop on us here."

"Can you handle it?"

"I'm trying to save our guys." Simon had stepped on Owen's fingers breaking them making him scream. James heard the noise of his men in the background.

"Michael are you still there? Michael."

"Yeah, I'm going in, but I'm gonna need back up."

"Where are you?"

"Boat yard, East boathouse."

"You stay strong! We're on our way."

"Stay strong? Simon laughed, "did he get that off a bumper sticker?"

"Move away from him."

"Oh, come on. James is smart, I had to make in convincing."

"That wasn't necessary." Michael felt bad for Owen.

"You think I haven't done worse for the CIA? Hell, they'll probably pin a medal on my chest after this."

Michael looked Simon in the eyes, "don't touch this man again."

"Oh, cry me a river. You want to weep for somebody? How 'bout my men. Simon playing games with Michael, faked concern. "Like Paco, or what's-his-face-with the mustache over there." Michael knew that Simon belonged in a white rubber room.

"You still in one piece Bravo Team?

"We're on the ground, but we lost James and Sonya."

Well, I have some good news for you. Thanks to Michael's stirring performance, they're racing over here. We're setting a little trap and if you don't want to miss the show hurry on over to the East boathouse."

"Nice work, we'll see you there." Strong was walking and talking with Jesse and Sam. "Michael helped lure Sonya and James to the boathouse."

Sam was happy that this was all going to be over soon. "Good let's do this."

"Before we go any further, there's something I have to tell you about the leader of Alpha Team."

"Why do I feel you're about to drop bad new?" Jesse asked Strong.

"Yeah, who is it? Spit it out."

"Simon Escher."

"What?"

"As in Simon, the homicidal maniac? And you're letting him run a team? Have you LOST YOUR MIND?!"

"He's been working with the agency for a while now and he is a top-notch operator. Nobody has a better record in high risk environment."

"I DONT GIVE A DAMN ABOUT HIS RECORD! THE GUY TRIED TO BLOW UP HALF OF MIAMI!"

"We've kept him on a tight leash, and I have been crystal clear about the missions parameters."

"Look, to hell with your parameters. You're working with a MONSTER!"

"And what is Michael? Huh? He shot a senior CIA officer IN THE FACE!"

Sam got close to Strong's face and just above a whisper told him, "Don't you dare compare the two."

"I will work with who I have to, to get the job done. Now, BACK OFF!"

"Guys, we're on the same team here, and it's not just our asses on the line here. Let's go!" Jesse's phone rang. "Hello."

"Jesse, what the hell is going on?"

"We're making another run at James. You need to get Maddie and Charlie out of there before we do."

"What? They're inside the house with two armed guards because Sam told me not to shoot them."

"I know it's bad Fi, but this is happening."

"How long do I have?"

"Five, maybe ten minutes."

"I'll see what I can do."

Madeline got a phone call from Fiona. Fiona told her what to say so the men listening on Madeline's end wouldn't get suspicious about the phone call. She warned her that she would be coming in to get them and to hide a weapon in case things went bad.

Simon was moving things around in the boathouse preparing for when James and Sonya would arrive. "Decent cover, solid sight lines. This should do just fine." Simon was giving Michael directions. You stay over there. Pretend your shooting at someone behind the boat. Sonya and James come in to help out, I sneak up behind them and disable them."

Michael was looking at Simon like he was crazy. "Disable them?"

"Yeah, I find people easier to capture when they can't walk."

"Simon, that's not how I operate!"

"Mmm...I thought we covered this. I'm running this extraction on orders of the CIA." Simon was frowning and shrugged his shoulders. He enjoyed toying with Michael more than he even did with Strong.

"Michael, you still hanging in there?"

"Yeah, James I'm just inside the door by a boat." While Michael's back was turned, Simon fired two shots in the air. "I-I'm engaging three hostiles."

"We're two miles out. We'll be there soon."

"Way to sell the deal Michael, I didn't even need squealer's help to send it over the top.

_"_As a spy, you're supposed to accomplish your mission, no matter what it costs."_There comes a point, though, where that's not possible anymore, when you're pushed to the breaking point and beyond."_

Simon slowly walked over to Owen and pointed his gun towards him. Michael yelled out, "Simon, NO!" and Simon ignored Michael's plea and shot him.

Michael only saw red and his anger would not be stopped until Simon was dead. He was furious that the CIA was working with him, he was driven to the brink when Simon killed Owen. A man who was tied, gagged and defenseless. He watched this insane, cruel, maniac kill for the very last time. He would end it once and for all. Michael came after Simon with brutal force. They wrestled back and forth exchanging punches and jabs. Fist and elbows were flying everywhere. Michael's vengeance was pouring out on Simon, and Simon returned angry blow for angry blow. Two fierce operatives were engaging in a grudge match, and this time it would be to the death. knees were banging ribs, and right hooks were making contact hit after hit. Michael finally got Simon on the ground by stabbing his thumbs into his bleeding eyes. Simon grabbed a knife that he had at his ankle and sliced Michael's arm to thwart the attack. A half blind Simon was slicing the knife through the air trying to make contact with Michael's flesh. Michael grabbed the arm that held the knife and turned it around on Simon. Using all of his strength, Michael was slowly winning the battle to pierce the heart of the psychotic killing machine that the CIA had created. Simon pleaded with Michael, "It's not too late. I can finish the job. You can be the hero Michael."

"Not like this." Michael drove the knife closer to Simon until he reached his target and plunged the knife deep into Simon's heart. Simon breathed in one final gasp of air, and the last things his eyes ever saw was the murderous look in Michael's eyes waiting for him to take his final breath.

* * *

Michael was rummaging through a first aid kit that he had found in the boathouse looking for something to treat the wound that Simon had inflicted on his upper arm. James and Sonya showed up and found bodies strewed all over the building. When James saw his men lying dead all he could say was, "Oh god." There was panic in Sonya's voice she called out, "Michael!" When she turned the corner she saw him and immediately was relieved. Michael was still breathing heavily from the encounter he just had with Simon. James quickly walked over to where Sonya and Michael were. "What happened?"

"I tried to save them. We were ambushed."

Blood was dripping from Michael's arm. "We need to patch you up." Sonya quickly responded, "Here, let me."

"Owen and the boys?"

"They were brave." James almost had tears in his eyes.

"Someone will pay! I should've listened Michael. We never should have split up." Michael looked perplexed and sad. He stared at James for just a moment before he said, "You came back James."

"Of course." Sonya knew what she was about to do would be painful. "Brace yourself, this will hurt." Michael didn't feel the pain. He didn't feel much of anything. He was still in shock about Simon. He couldn't comprehend that the CIA would collaborate with the man that was willing to kill for the sheer pleasure of it. Maybe all operatives ended up that way. Larry did, Simon did, and countless others he had come across. He thought to himself, maybe we all end up that way. He kept his eyes on James wondering why a man that was supposed to be so evil would risk his life and come back for his men. Michael knew that James could have easily reached safety by now if he hadn't come back for him. If he was everything the CIA said he was, than why was he here now? Why did he look like he just lost his family? Nothing made sense anymore.

* * *

Sam, Jesse and Strong had reached the East boathouse. Jesse told them he just got a text from Fiona saying that she would pull Maddy and Charlie out of the house in about three minutes. Strong was extremely happy. This was the moment he had been waiting for. "All right, safeties off, heads down. Lets move"

Michael, James and Sonya were checking the enemies' dead bodies. "Nothing on this one."

"Nothing on any of these either. No I.D.s, no cell phones, not even any tattoos. These guys were ghost. Who the hell do you think sent them?" asked Sonya

"I don't know."

James was taking pictures on his cell phone and when he was finished he was on the phone with one of his men. "I just sent you pictures of the hit squad. I want them identified ASAP! Thank you. We'll be about an hour. Let's go."

Michael saw Bravo Team outside the boathouse's windows. James and Sonya were headed out the door and into a trap.

"_The thing that keeps you going in a deep-cover mission is knowing that you're fighting for something you believe in, that the people you work for have your back. But when your own side betrays what the claim they stand for, when they're willing to do things even your enemies wouldn't dream of, everything starts to fall apart. And when it comes down to that final moment, sometimes you can surprise even yourself."_

Michael surveyed the carnage that surrounded the building and he had no idea that he was going to betray the CIA. When he watched James and Sonya almost walk through the door that could have ended everything his voice functioned as if it was a separate entity from his mind and body and without complete understanding he shouted for James and Sonya to wait.

"Wait, wait!...wait."

"What is it?"

"It might be nothing," he pointed to Simon who lay dead in a pool of blood, but this one was calling for a support team during the firefight. If back up is on the way, they'll be coming from that road," he pointed to the door they were about to walk through.

"Is that arm good enough to swim?"

"We'll find out."

"Let's go out back."

Michael didn't fully understand why he had made the decision to save them, but he knew he had crossed a line that could never be undone. He didn't think about his family or his friends or himself. All he could think about was that the agency that had cost him everything had used Simon Escher to carry out their plans. Plans that involved men just like him who had bled and sacrificed to destroy the same enemies he was asked to fight against...

When Sam, Jesse and Strong walked through the door of the boathouse, Strong called out to Michael, but there was no answer. "He's gone!"

"No sign of James or Sonya either."

"What the hell happened here?"

Sam was upset, "I'll tell you what the hell happened. You put an op in the hands of a Psycho, and it blew up in our faces."

"Oh god, I gotta call Fi!" Fiona's phone vibrated she clicked on her Bluetooth. "What do you want? I'm just about to-"

"No! Fi, stop whatever you're doing! Mike and James disappeared on us."

"Again? What happened?"

"I don't know, but we lost them."

"Madeline and Charlie are still inside. What do you want me to do?"

"Get the hell outta there! The operation isn't over."

"Jesse, I just set a charge."

"You gotta get rid of now! Right now!"

"Shit!" Fiona took off running trying to get to the charge before it blew up. With barely a second to spare she shut down the timer and disarmed the charge.

* * *

James, Sonya and Michael reached the safe house that was being guarded by more of James' men.

"Glad you made it Sir, Are you alright?"

"I've seen better days. Dispose of the vehicle."

"Right away."

Sonya told James, "I'll check to see if there's been any progress identifying the photos."

"Sonya, leave that be. Come with me. Michael, join us." James led them all outside in a courtyard.

"What's going on James?

"We don't need photos to figure out who did this. I think we know exactly where to find that information." Sonya was confused by James' demeanor and tone of voice.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Please...Don't make this harder than it has to be."

"Make what harder? James you're scaring me!"

"SONYA! Only two people in the world knew exactly where we'd be today. Me...and you." James pulled out his gun and trained it on Sonya.

"What are you talking about?"

"James, put the gun down."

"You stay out of this, Michael."

"I didn't tell anybody. And Michael here, he didn't know where we'd be today. Neither did these men. And everyone else on the mission is dead."

Sonya couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I would never betray you!"

"Who did you tell?"

"No one!"

"WHO DID YOU TELL?"

"NO ONE, I SWEAR IT!" Michael spoke up, "Calm down. It's possible she's not lying. Somebody could've hacked-"

"NO way in hell! Nobody gets that close to us. Somebody make you a better offer? Is this a power play to take over? Because I would respect it, couldn't tolerate it. Whatever your plan was, it failed!

"I was tortured for us! You know that!" Sonya was on the brink of tears. "I helped build all of this."

"And that my dear, is what makes this so very hard." James walked up to Sonya point-blank. He grabbed her by the back of hair. "See I need to know what you've done, what you've compromised. James put the gun on Sonya's femoral artery. "I'm going to give you five seconds to come clean before this becomes a lot more painful. Now, who are you working with?"

Sonya reached out and touched James' face, "please."

"Who were those men?"

"I don't know!"

"5...4...3..."

"I don't know. I don't know! Please don't do this James."

"Talk to me! 2...:

"James."

"Stay out of this Michael!"

"1..." James kissed Sonya on the forehead and cocked his gun.

"James, she didn't betray you, I did!... I'm working with the CIA. I copied the information off of her cell phone, while she slept. I made a drop to my CIA contact with all the data later that morning."

"Sonya knew nothing about this?" Michael looked at the tears in Sonya's eyes and saw the reflection of his betrayal. "No." Sonya reacted with a backhand to Michael's face. She turned her back to him in disgust.

"How long you been working with the CIA?"

"The whole time James, what's the point? If you're gonna shoot me, get it over with."

"You think you get off that easy? James punched Michael in the face again. "Good men died today because of you." He pushed Michael to the ground. He pointed his gun to Michael's neck. "How dare you fight alongside us like a brother. How could you?"

"It was part of my cover. I made a deal with the CIA to keep my friends out of jail. I had to sell it." James squeezed the knife wound on Michael's arm and pulled him up to his feet by it. Michael groaned in pain.

"You're holding back on me, Michael." Still squeezing the fresh wound. "You saved men's lives for us. You killed for us. No mans that good a liar. You're a believer. I saw the fire in your eyes."

"Yes, the things you did, I didn't agree with all of them. But...you believed in something, you stood for something."

"The CIA was waiting outside the boathouse today. Weren't they?"

"Yeah."

"You could've completed your mission. You could have got your friends off the hook. And all you had to do was let us walk out that door. But you didn't, why?"

Michael looked and Sonya and then James. With sorrow and pleading in his eyes, he asked. "Can we just end this please?" James handed the gun to Sonya and she picked it up ready to kill Michael at James' first command.

"Not until... you tell me the truth for the first damn time in your life." Sonya had the gun pointed and Michael's head. "Why didn't you complete your mission?"

"Because the man they sent after you...Simon...because if they worked with him, they believe in nothing. And I believed. I believed since the first day of my training with the CIA. I thought all they stood for was right! Even after they burned me! I gave up everything!" Defeated, Michael said, "And I wasted my life...for a lie." Michael's eyes watered up and then he closed them. He surrendered to the fact that his life was finally coming to an end. Many times over his life could have ended on any number of missions. He wished that he would have died in the line of duty never knowing the deception of the machine that he gave his entire life in service of. He was tired and bankrupt of all feeling. He was actually glad that the endless, scratching and clawing was finally coming to an end. The pointless circle that never seemed to stop. He held his face up to the sunlight above him, and he smiled. Sonya walked a little closer to him, she had never taken the gun off of him. "James, are you satisfied?" "No, Sonya, not yet."

"Not yet? What the hell? You've got to be kidding me," Michael thought to himself. They moved him to a holding cell where he awaited his fate. He wondered what form of torture James was going to get his revenge with. He was ready to get it over with, and hoped it wouldn't take too long. Sitting in the dark he was surprised that he had no thoughts. He wasn't thinking of anyone or anything. Usually his mind never stopped thinking. Sometimes that's why it was so hard for him to fall asleep. He was always "figuring things out", the next move, the next mission, the next, the next, the next. It was endless, but tonight he found an end to the thinking. He was just waiting for the inevitable and welcomed its relief.

* * *

Michael heard someone coming and looked to see who it was. Sonya was standing in front of the locked cell door. "Come on, James wants to talk to you." He groaned as he got up off of the floor. It had been a hell of a couple of days. When Michael reached the door before Sonya opened it she asked him a question. "Was any of it real? Between us? Michael saw the sadness in her expression over the betrayal of being used by him.

"I had a job to do Sonya. Get close to you, close to the people you work with."

"You didn't answer the question."

"I was undercover for so long I lost track of who I was. A part of me...the part that believed in what we were doing, that part...cared for you. And you? Were you just recruiting an asset?"

"I had a job to do too. Did I take pleasure in it? Yes. My heart belongs to my work. It will always come first. Sonya opened the door and two armed men escorted Michael up the stairs to a room that James was waiting for him in. "Sit." Michael winced in pain as he sat on the chair.

"I've been contemplating our circumstances. I am deeply concerned about what you have done. I have questions, important questions. Questions that will determine your future, an ours."

"What do you want to know?"

"I need to know exactly what the CIA wants."

"They want the leader of the group. They want you."

"And if you don't give them that?"

"My friends will spend the rest of their lives in a CIA detention center."

"What we do here together, what we stand for...do you believe in it? And don't give me the answer that you think I want to hear. What I want is the truth."

"I haven't always agreed with your methods, but the jobs I've helped you with, the ones that no one else was willing to do, they needed to be done. We protect what is important. You made me a part of something that's bigger than you...bigger than me. You made me believe there is something worth fighting for. Something to believe in."

"I believe in you Michael Westen, I always have. I think there is a way out of this. A way to salvage our organization. A way to save your friends, a way to save yourself. But in order to do that I'm gonna need you to do something for me. I need you to go back to Miami and return yourself to the good graces of the CIA. I need you to tell them a story."

James laid out the details for Michael and explained to him what he wanted Michael to do. Michael was surprised how easy it was to say yes. He had a long drive back to think about all the events that had just transpired. The heat was beating down on Michael, but he was so lost in his thoughts he hardly noticed it.

His whole adult life he had worked for the CIA and now he was going to lie to them about the mission he had been working on for well over a year and a half. In order for James' cover story to work for Michael, he had to hitch hike his way to a pay phone and get a hold of Strong. During that journey home, under the Mexican sky, Michael rehearsed the last few days over and over in his mind. He couldn't let Sonya die and confessed to being the one that betrayed James, and he had accepted that he would die for that transgression. However, James saved his life. Once again this man had surprised Michael. After a couple of days in a holding cell at the compound, James decided to let Michael live and use him as a double agent against the very organization that had used Michael against him. At least that's what Michael believed to be true.

Michael had no idea at the time, but this was exactly how James wanted things to play out since the first day Michael had been dropped off in the D.R. to appear as a down and out and dejected spy. James knew he was there from the very beginning to take him down, and every job, every conversation, and even the days of interrogation were all tests to see if Michael was the man James needed for a very special job. One that had been born in the heart of James since the first time he had heard about Michael's burn notice. He had kept his eye on him, and had maneuvered certain events throughout the years in hopes that his ultimate plan of having a lethal operative feeding him information directly from the CIA would come to fruition. Everything including having Michael kill a friend for him were test of his resolve. Accusing Sonya of betraying the organization was all part of the plan too. He knew Michael would try to seduce Sonya, he even planted the details of their route on her phone. Everything had gone as he intended, even Michael confessing his betrayal. He knew Michael was not the kind of man that would let Sonya die for his own betrayal, especially after taking her to his bed. James wanted Michael to lie to the CIA and tell them that his cover was in tact.

Michael had no idea that it was more than just the hurts, and betrayals from the CIA, and Fiona not loving him anymore that had caused him to be loyal to James. What Michael didn't know was that during the time James was interrogating him, they used advanced techniques to brain wash him. He was given drugs to aid in their re-education, but also to hide from his memory all that they had done to him. Every act of loyalty from James had been purposely orchestrated to enhance and reinforce the ideas that had been planted into Michael's thoughts. Including when James killed the man that left Fiona to die in a burning building, the protection given to Michael's mother and Charlie, helping Fiona with saving Carlos' life, "coming back" for Michael when the CIA was "after" them, and ultimately saving Michael's life after he had told James he was working for the CIA.

Too many times Michael had been left dangling in the wind by the organization that he had sacrificed morality, love, and possibly his very soul for. These were the people who burned him, cast him aside, tried to kill him, and threatened to put his friends and family in jail. For the first time in a long time he was clear on his purpose. He liked belonging to an organization that believed in brotherhood and stood for something noble, and refused to work with monsters like Simon Escher. He felt good about his decision to work for James and the minute he called Strong from the payphone he knew he crossed a line that could never be undone.

_"As a spy when you stop believing in the orders you've been given, you can't just walk away, you have to go deeper. You have to lie to the people giving those orders, you have to act as if nothing is wrong. You have to make everybody think you are dedicated to the operation you are trying to destroy."_

* * *

Michael was called back to Langley and had to meet with Strong and the head of the Central Intelligence Agency. He had to convince them that he could still bring the mission home. After laying out the facts, the head of the CIA told Michael that he had 48 hours to finish the job or everyone was going back to prison.

Fiona knocked on Michael's door. "Michael it's me." He opened the door. "Michael, I've been calling you for hours." She huffed her way through the front door.

"Sorry, Fi."

"I spoke to Strong. Not only did he say you want us off the job, but were not supposed to even have contact with you. What the hell is going on?"

"I don't want to get into it. I have to do this on my own"

"James and Sonya are dangerous! You know this."

"I can handle them. If things get bad the CIA will back me up." Michael sat down on the edge of his bed.

"You're going to trust the CIA over us? They let Simon lead the last op for god sakes!"

"They were in a tough spot. They're just trying to finish this." Fiona kneeled down to his level and looked him in the eye.

"We're talking about Simon!"

"I know and I don't care! I just...I just want this to be over." Fiona heard the defeat in his voice after he was done yelling, and for the first time she noticed how much older Michael looked. Life had left his eyes and he looked tired and worn out. He rested his head in his hands. She quit yelling and lowered her voice. She wanted desperately to take away Michael's pain.

"You can't do this alone, Michael. If your cover is blown, the CIA are going to hang you out to dry. You know what you'll be left with?" She walked over to his gun, held it up and said, "this, and that's it." Michael lifted up his head out of his hands to see what she was talking about. She pulled out his bullets and held them in her hand. "And these, they're not enough. You need our help"

He turned away from her. "I'm sorry Fi, it has to be this way." She put the bullets back in the gun and walked away, but not before telling him.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

* * *

Fiona called for a meeting with Sam and Jesse. Jesse was already sitting with Fiona when Sam showed up.

"Okay Fi, this better be important. Elsa wasn't happy with me running out at dawn."

"Oh, it's important. I put a tracker in Michael's gun. He's hiding something and I want to know what it is."

Jesse sounded concerned, "Wait a minute, what?"

"I put a fake bullet in his clip that's transmitting his location."

Sam was upset. "You're spying on Mike?"

"Look, why would he ask us to help him all this time then kick us off the job, and out of his life? It doesn't make sense."

Jesse tried to stick up for him. "Come on Fi, it's his mission. He's the one on the inside. We got to let him do his thing."

"He's been acting strangely ever since he met James. You know I'm right." Fiona looked over at Sam. "He told you himself, he started to question his own loyalty."

"And he said he was handling it."

"Sam he didn't even mind that the CIA hired Simon."

"Look Fi, he's been under a lot of stress. You know he almost died in Mexico. So, just because he seems a little off doesn't mean that he's up to something."

Jesse was reading the tablet that was keeping track of Michael's movements. "For what it's worth, he's on the move. Heading North on I-95"

"Come on Jesse, you're not buying this too?"

"I'm not saying I'm convinced, but I don't know why we can't just follow him around a bit, see what he's doing. If it's nothing we'll all sleep better, right?"

"Wow! Spy on a spy. I guess that's us. Let's do it."

Sam and Jesse followed Michael and parked a distance away. They waited to see what he was going to do.

"Oh, my goodness, I'm starving. I really wish I would have finished that breakfast burrito this morning."

"Well, I wish we weren't doing this at all! This is a waste of time."

"I don't know you got to admit, it's a little odd, Mike drives all the way to Lauderdale just to sit in his car for an hour."

"Well, maybe he's following a lead for the CIA."

"For what?"

"What does it matter? This just feels wrong. You know what? I'm gonna get to the bottom of this. I'm just gonna call him..."

Michael was sitting in the charger waiting by the marina when his phone rang. He saw that it was Sam and winced. He really didn't want to talk to him right now and he was going to ignore the call, but thought in the end he should answer it and get Sam off the line as soon as possible.

"Hey Sam."

"Yeah, hey Mike, I just swung by the loft. You know, to check in, see what's going on and you weren't there. Where did you run off to?""

"Yeah, I took a ride up to Fort Lauderdale, checking on a few leads."

"Oh, you're in Fort Lauderdale? " Sam was giving Jesse the stink eye. Okay, you want me to head out there and give you a hand?"

"Well, there's nothing to help with. James is lying low, out of the country. I don't think he'll make contact for at least a few days."

"Okay. Well, if you need me, you know where to find me brother."

"Thanks Sam."

* * *

"Okay, there you go. Everything is fine. He said James isn't going to make contact for a couple of days. In the meantime, he's just checking out a lead."

"Wait a minute," Jesse was looking through the binoculars. "Mike said he's not meeting James for a couple of days?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Who the hell is that?" Jesse handed Sam the binoculars.

"Son of a bitch!"

"Mike lied to us, he's lying to us!"

"No, come on, hey... he's gotta be making a play."

"What the hell are you talking about? What kind of play? Look, you can lie to yourself all you want, but that doesn't change the fact-"

"Jesse, don't say it. Mike is not a traitor."

"You need to wake up. He kicked us off the job, he's lying to us. Look at him, tell me I'm wrong."

Sam couldn't believe he was admitting defeat. "No, you're not wrong." He couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. "Mike switched sides."

Fiona had to tell Madeline the news about Michael. She didn't want to do it by phone so she stopped by the house. Her heart was aching for Michael and the way things used to be. Everything was so complicated now. Even though she feared she had lost Michael forever, she knew she wouldn't give up on him without a fight.

"Are you telling me my son is a traitor?"

"I know this is hard. James has been messing with his head. I've never seen Michael like this."

"Tell me where he is."

"It's not that simple."

"I want to talk to him!"

"Well, he doesn't want to talk. He pulled us off the job, he's not returning our calls!"

"Then why are you bothering to tell me this?" Tell me what do you want? Tell me what to do!" Fiona started to cry.

"We need to get him away from James and Sonya, from all of it!"

"Fiona, this house is being watched! What's going to happen to Charlie and me if Michael goes missing?"

Fiona walked closer to Madeline and put her hand on her shoulders. She was trying to hold back the tears. "We'll get you both away, someplace safe, and then we can focus on Michael."

"You're asking me to go on the run with a child?" Fiona's eyes pleaded with Madeline and said, "It's the only chance Michael has."

"Fine, give me a couple of days to put our stuff together."

"Madeline, we only have a couple of hours."

* * *

Sonya and Michael met James on his yacht and once they were in safe waters Michael explained what the CIA expected from him.

"The CIA has given me thirty-six hours to finish this before they shut it down."

"Well, then we will have to move fast."

"James, I don't know what else I can do? The CIA won't accept anything less than you thrown in a dark hole."

"I'm aware of that. I thought about this for quite sometime now, and there is only one course of action open to us. Michael...you have to turn me in."

Sonya couldn't believe what James was saying. "What? No!"

"Yes."

"James we can't."

James held Sonya's face tenderly. "The CIA has my face and name. I have been compromised, and they won't stop hunting us until they bring me down. So, I must be brought down. What they don't realize is that our work will continue."

Sonya was almost frantic. "How will it continue without a leader?"

"I see two leaders standing right before me." Michael stepped into the conversation, "I'm not sure what you are thinking."

"It's simple when you turn me over to the authorities, you'll be a hero, you'll be the man who captured me. The CIA will never suspect that their ace operative is protecting us from within."

Sonya looked like her whole world had collapsed. "I know Sonya, it's a lot to process." James leaned over and whispered lovingly in her ear. "I have always had great faith in you...you can do this. Michael, you said it yourself, the only way to keep your friends from living a life in prison is to turn me in...I'm giving you that." James grabbed Michael and Sonya's hand and placed them together. "And so much more... And this...this is a beautiful thing." For me it will be over, but for you two, only the beginning."

"The CIA will want an update. What do you want me to tell them?"

"You just tell them I'm coming to town... and you keep them at a distance until we are ready." Michael dialed Strong." Michael where are you?"

"I don't have a lot of time to talk, but James is coming to Miami. You need to get your team ready."

Michael couldn't believe that once again James was protecting his people and protecting his own friends and family from going to jail. It motivated Michael even more to see this through. He felt sorry for James because he knew he would spend the rest of his days rotting away on some black site, but he was grateful his friends and family wouldn't be meeting the same fate.

* * *

Michael had no idea that James had this plan in the making for years. He had already positioned people within the CIA to be able to help him fake his death and get him out of CIA custody. He knew Michael would pledge an even deeper loyalty to him "knowing" that he had sacrificed himself for his organization, and for Michael's family. Once everyone believed he was dead, the CIA would no longer be looking for him, and he could meet up with Michael and Sonya. Later, when he came back to them, he would tell them he didn't want to worry them in case his plan didn't work. He knew that they would buy it hook, line and sinker. After that, he would have Michael on the inside of the CIA and they would never have to worry about the CIA coming after them again. Of course Michael and even Sonya didn't know that almost everything that James did was for power and money. They believed it was a noble "cause" they were fighting for, but James used these jobs to fool the people who worked for him into becoming his vessels willing to bleed and die for their organization, committing totally to their work, while all the time he was acquiring massive power and wealth beyond measure.

* * *

Sam and Jesse were getting things ready at an abandon boat house while Fiona was preparing Madeline's house to burn down. They needed a distraction so they could get away without James' men going after them. They didn't know if their plan would work, but they knew they had to get Michael away from James and Sonya. Sam acquired a seaplane and docked it near the boathouse so they could make a quick get away. They needed to bring Michael there so they could convince him to leave with them and if need be they would use force. Sam was having doubts about being able to pull it off, he also was afraid that Michael would never forgive him for forcing him to leave with them. Jesse assured him that he would eventually come around. Sam gave Fiona a call and let her know they were ready on their end and that she had to make a clean get away because if the followed her there, the whole plan would unravel.

"Madeline, you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. It's not everyday you burn down a house you spent 45 years in. Right?"

"I'm sorry we have to do this. You have a lot of good memories here."

"Yeah, I got a lot of bad ones too. See this picture of the boys? It was taken the Christmas that Frank put me in the hospital. That morning was the happiest I had ever seen my boys. Then that night...I should have left here a long time ago. I just couldn't do it."

"Well, you're not the same woman that you were then. You're stronger now." Madeline told Charlie to get his backpack and meet her at the back door. Fiona grabbed her lighter and tossed it on the lighter fluid that had been poured through out the house. Madeline looked around as the flames started to spread and she knew there was no coming home ever again.

The men that James had watching Madeline's home saw smoke and flames pouring out of the house. They left their car to see if they could help. Fiona had Madeline and Charlie with her, and she threw a molotov cocktail under the car of the surveillance team and drove away while it exploded. She had to stop them from being able to follow her.

In the meantime Michael was meeting with Sonya discussing the last-minute details of turning over James to the CIA later that day. Michael arranged the pick up at an old transmission station that James' organization used to use for operatives in the Caribbean before they recruited one of the best satellite tech guys in Miami, he tapped them into a civilian station closer to the city. Sonya let Michael know that when James arrived by helicopter her men would hold off the CIA long enough for Michael to "grab" James and Sonya to escape on the helicopter. While they were talking about James' capture, Sonya got a phone call explaining that Michael's mothers house had a fire and when the team went in to help, Fiona destroyed their car and sped away. When she got off the phone she told Michael and wanted to know what was going on. Michael grabbed his phone and told her he would find out. Michael called Sam.

"Mike, I've been trying to get a hold of you. It's about your mom."

"I heard Sam, what happened?"

"Well, I'm not sure exactly. Fi called me about ten minutes ago and she was upset. I could barely understand what she was saying."

"Where is she?"

"Michael, this is a delicate situation. I'm going to meet her in about an hour. Why don't you meet me, and we'll go together. I tried to talk to her, but she needs to hear from you."

"No, Sam I can't"

"Look, Mike, I know your busy, but when you kicked us off this job, Fi didn't take it too well. You got to talk to her."

"No! I'm in the middle of-"

"Look Mike! Make time! Okay? She could be leaving the country with your mom right now. We got to get in front of this. Just you, me and Fi. 'cause if somebody else goes in, who knows what she'll do? I mean when she gets like this Mike, things tend to go BOOM!"

"All right, where should I meet you?"

"The old port bridge. Remember Mike, alone."

"Yeah, Okay."

Sonya was not happy with the recent unfolding events and she was chasing down Michael as he was walking towards his car. "Michael, is Fiona going to be a problem?"

"It's gonna be fine, just focus on everything here. I'll be back soon."

"Why would she attack our men? Why?"

"I don't know."

"This plan is already in motion-" "It will be fine! I just need-" "If she does anything to-" "Sonya, I'll handle it!"

* * *

Fiona was watching through binoculars as Michael drove up to meet Sam. "He's here. Is everything in place?"

Jesse answered her, " Tasers charged, rubber bullets loaded, sedatives ready. Mike's getting on that plane one way or another."

Michael pulled up along side Sam, "so where's Fi?"

"Across the bridge on the island."

"Let's do this quick. I got to get back."

"Mike, hang on a second. Fi doesn't know you're coming. We should take my car so we don't spook her before we get a chance to talk to her. Sound good?"

Michael wasn't happy, but he reluctantly got out of his car to get in with Sam. Jesse was watching with binoculars too. "Okay, they're on the move."

Michael had an uneasy feeling about driving with Sam. He started looking around. "Where are we meeting Fi?"

"Uh, she's in some mansion that's under construction. She's camping out at the boat house there."

"Why there?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when she was running guns, she would never use one of these small islands because there are no escape routes."

"I don't know. Maybe she's planning more hiding than escaping."

_"When you've worked for the same team for many years, you understand exactly how each member operates. You know their strengths, their weaknesses, and how they act under pressure. You also know what it looks like when they're trying to hide something from you."_

"Sam, I don't think I should surprise Fi. Why don't you let me out here, you go in alone, and tell her I want to talk."

"Mike, look, the sooner we deal with this the better."

"Stop the car."

"Mike, let's get to the meeting. You want to see your mom, right?"

"Sam, I said STOP THE CAR!" Sam began to accelerate faster. "Sam! Sam!" Michael grab the wheel and Sam was fighting to maintain control of the car. He had to slam on the brakes nearly missing being hit by another car. Fiona was still watching. "What the hell just happened?"

Michael quickly got out of the car, "Sam, you tell me what the hell is going on here! Why are you lying to me?"

"Who's lying to who brother? We saw you Mike, we tailed you to that marina. You tell me on the phone that you haven't seen James, and I'm watching you shake hands with the son of a bitch!"

"No! You don't understand Sam!"

"Yeah, you're damn right I don't! You're lying to protect the guy you're supposed to be taking down!"

"You don't know everything! I am protecting you. I am protecting everyone!"

"You know what? You keep telling yourself that, but I know there's more to it than that." You are starting to believe in what he is doing. You're starting to believe in what he's all about. Quick reminder...you're supposed to be working for the CIA!"

"The CIA hired Simon! They burned me, and they left me out in the dark! They ruined my life! I don't owe them anything!"

"Okay, the CIA may not be perfect, but they got to answer to somebody. Who does James answer to, huh? No body because he makes up his own rules."

"What's wrong with that?" Michael starting walking away. "Tell that to Nate." Michael stopped in his tracks and turned around, "What did you say to me?"

Sam starting walking towards him diminishing the gap between them. Sam lowered his voice. "Mike, the people that murdered your brother, the people that destroyed your life, they thought they were doing good things too. How is your group any different?"

"That is not the same thing! This is different! When I'm in-."

"When you're what Mike? Ahh crap! You're not just helping them. You're one of them!"

"After today I won't have to follow orders anymore. I will be making them. The resources I will have, the operatives that I will have under my control-After today, I won't have to let some bureaucrat decide what's worth fighting for! I CAN DO WHAT I THINK IS RIGHT! "

"And what happens Mike, when somebody gets in your way, huh? What happens then?"

"I'm walking away, Sam." Michael headed back towards the car. Before he could open the door Sam ran over and tried to slam it shut. "You're not going anywhere pal!" They tugged back and forth on the car door until Michael gave it a swift hard kick, knocking Sam with the door. Sam recovered quickly and gave Michael a powerful right hook to the jaw. Sam got Michael in a choke hold and Michael broke free from it. Sam picked up Michael and slammed him on top of the car. Michael got off of the hood and Sam came charging after him, Michael kicked him directly in his gut and brought him to his knees. Sam got up and charged him again knocking both Michael and himself over the bridge.

Sam couldn't believe it had come to this. It was all so surreal. Michael was his best friend, they had been through so much together and he didn't even recognize the man he was fighting with. He had almost lost all hope, but he wasn't about to give up without a fight. When Michael and Sam went flying over the bridge and landed in the water, Sam still had a grasp on Michael. They both began to struggle until Sam got Michael in a choke hold. Sam was a Navy Seal and he felt perfectly at home in the water. He knew he had the upper hand on Michael and he just waited for him to pass out, but Michael had other ideas.

"_Navy Seals use their comfort in the water to gain the upper hand, if an opponent panics, then all a Seal has to do his hold his breath, and let oxygen deprivation do its work...Which means the best way to fight a Navy Seal in the water is to force yourself to be as calm as they are. Let them think they won and then make your move."_

Michael stayed perfectly still and Sam thought that he had passed out. As soon as Sam let go of his iron grip, Michael used his elbow to hit Sam in the eye. Michael made his escape and swam for the top of the water. Gasping for air when his head broke the surface of the water his pained lungs were finally able to inhale the oxygen they so desperately needed. Still light headed from the lack of air Michael bolted for the pier. Sam came up only seconds later gasping for air and his eye was profusely bleeding. Sam knew he had failed to snap Michael out of whatever fog he had been living in the past couple months.

"Because we're friends and we been through so much together I'm going to let this go...but you stay the hell out of my way Sam!"

Sam knew this was the end of Michael as he had known him and as he watched his best friend leave he could only feel sadness for all that they had lost.

* * *

Michael returned to Sonya, "It's about time, James is waiting."

"I'll make the call."

"Is Fiona going to be a problem?"

"I took care of it."

"Are you sure? I need to know that this isn't going to get in our way."

"You don't have to worry about her."

"Michael, Fiona is a liability. She can ruin everything."

"This is what I want, and I will do what I have to."

"Make the call." Sonya handed the phone to Michael.

"This is James."

"Everything is on schedule. Once you are close I'll let the CIA know. They won't make a move until you're on the ground."

"Well, then we mustn't keep them waiting. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"We'll be ready."

"Michael, do you realize how far you've come? I'm proud of you, my people are in good hands."

James boarded the helicopter that would bring him to Michael and eventually his capture by the CIA.

"Let's get this bird in the air."

"Roger that."

* * *

In the meantime Sam was back at the boat house and he was fighting his own wrath. He felt guilty for not being able to subdue Michael. Jesse tried to calm him down and assure him that it wasn't his fault. Sam was ready to give up and have everyone board the plane to get out-of-town. However, Fiona wasn't having any part of that idea.

"NO! He still has the tracker on him. We know where he is. If we can get to him then I can-"

"Fi, this is Mike were talking about. He knows we're a threat now. There's no way we can catch him by surprise."

"Well, it's not going to be easy Jesse."

Sam piped in, "try impossible. He's with James now."

"Yeah, I know that Sam! But if we don't stop him now, there won't be a Michael left to save!"

"What are we going to do Fi? Even if we could get him, then what?"

Fiona was looking around the room for some back up and support from Jesse or Madeline.

"I looked into his eyes, Fi. He's lost. You think that's easy for me to say?" Sam had tears in his eyes. "He's my best friend but there's nothing we can do. It's too late."

Fiona shook her head no and pleaded with Sam with her eyes. Madeline finally spoke up while holding Charlie in her lap. "You have all been through so much together. Please, please don't give up on Michael." She pleaded with a mother's heart. "Not now." They all looked at each other and knew deep down that they had to try one last time to reach Michael.

Jesse had the tracking device in his hand. "Okay, Mikes way out in the Everglades. If this plan is gonna work we have to get their fast!"

"Whose car are we taking?" Fiona answered Sam, "You have to ask?"

With tires squealing they headed for Michael's location.

* * *

Sonya and Michael were waiting on the roof that James' helicopter was going to be landing on. Sonya looked at Michael and said, "it's time."

Michael called Strong. "Tell me you got something Westen."

"I can't talk long. We're at a satellite facility. Seven miles West of Pearl Bay. James is inbound."

"Mobilize the teams."

"Your best approach is from the West. I'll take James down and bring him out to you. I got to go."

"I'll be there soon, good work, Michael."

Michael looked and Sonya and told her that they were on their way.

Fiona was racing towards Michael. She was driven with an unstoppable force to reach him. She knew if she could talk to him, and look him in the eyes, she could reach the heart of the only man she had ever truly loved.

Everyone was converging to one point. James, the CIA and now Fiona, Sam and Jesse. Michael had no idea what was about to unfold around him. When Fiona had reached their destination the tracker let them know that Michael was close. Fiona was searching for Michael from behind the security gate trying to locate him without letting the security team know that they were there.

"I got him. He's on the roof with Sonya."

"What the hell are they doing up there?"

"It doesn't matter we need to get to him."

"That's not going to be easy. There's guards all over the place."

Sam suggested, "What about this? We split up, flank him on both sides, and surprise him. Maybe we get lucky"

"Or maybe we get dead," replied Jesse. "I don't think a firefight is the way to go."

"The Southeast corner, if we could get to the back of the building, we only have to deal with one guard."

I like the sound of that, but how are you going to get on the roof?"

"One step at a time Jesse. This is gonna work...it has too."

Michael had spotted James in the sky. "Here comes James, he's about five minutes out. Any sign of the CIA convoy?"

"Our man on the road said they drove by about two minutes ago. They'll be here on time." When James lands, I'll need to get on the helicopter as fast as possible. We can only jam the CIA radio for a short period of time."

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now." Sonya was being radioed by one of her men. "Sonya, this is Cooper at the rear exit, I need to ask you about...(all she could hear was radio static)"

"Cooper? Cooper, come in. What did you need?"

"I'll go check, Michael, and make sure there's no problems."

"I did what you wanted. Can you get that gun out of my face now?" The guard was being held by Jesse and Sam.

Fiona ran up the stairs as fast as her legs would carry her. Michael had his eye on James, and the CIA convoy was almost there.

Fiona swung open the door and with the sun shining brightly in front of her, she used her arm to shield the glare on her face. She saw Michael standing on the roof. He turned towards the door when it opened and couldn't believe Fiona was standing there on the roof. "Fi"

"Michael!"

"Fi, you can't be here! You have to go now!"

"Or what Michael?

"Look, I told Sam to stay away. You have to! You all have to stay away. I'm trying to protect you."

They were standing face to face now. "What about you? Who is going to protect you from making the worst decision of your life?"

"You don't...You don't understand. I-I've made my choice. It's too late."

"Is it too late for the Michael Westen I fell in love with...? The man who knows what he's doing is wrong?" Michael grabbed Fiona and shoved her towards the door. "James is coming, you have to go!"

"No, get your hands off of me!"

Michael was screaming now, "Fi! You got to go! Get out of here now!"

Fiona had tears in her eyes. "Sam told you someday someone would threaten this organization, and you would have to make a choice. Well, that day has come, and that someone is me."

Sonya walked back out on the roof top. "Michael! What the hell is she doing here? Sonya came charging over towards the both of them. "I thought you said she wouldn't be a problem!"

"Well, he was wrong!"

"I will give you one chance to leave! ONE CHANCE!"

Fiona searched Michael's eyes looking for some sort of indication that he was still there, the man she had spent years and years fighting along side of. She wanted him to stand up to Sonya. Sonya barked, "Turn around and walk out that door now!"

"You know, I think I prefer the view up here."

Michael was watching both Sonya and Fiona from outside of himself. He felt like he was just observing from above his body. He couldn't figure out why he didn't seem to be in control of his own thoughts. He felt like a puppet on a string. He wanted to act, but he was waiting for something, or someone to show up, but he didn't know what that something was or who that someone could be.

"She needs to be dealt with Michael! NOW!"

"Dealt with?"

"Yes! Dealt with!"

"What exactly do you mean, Sonya?"

"I'll show you." Sonya reached for her gun from behind her waist band and pointed it and Fiona.

"NO! Wait! Wait. Wait." Michael held his hand up and signaled for Sonya to stop.

"I told you she was going to destroy everything! We can't let that happen!"

Everything slowed down in Michael's head. He felt disconnected from what was happening. "I'll...I'll talk to her. I just need to figure this out."

"There's nothing to figure out, Michael! James is here! The CIA is closing in. We have to finish this now!"

Fiona kept her eyes on Michael, "You do what you think is right." She said just above a whisper. "If this is what you want...The man I love is gone." Voices were echoing in Michael's head.

"Think of all the good we could do together Michael. Don't let her hold you back. You have to let go. You need to let her go!" Sonya loved Michael too and she didn't want to lose him to Fiona. She didn't want Fiona to interfere with the plan that James had laid out before them. She knew together leading side by side they could have it all. They could run the organization, and they could finally be together whenever they wanted to, and they would never have to answer to any one ever again.

Michael was almost paralyzed. He just kept listening to both of the women that were tugging at him, pulling him in opposite directions. Fiona called out to him in a final attempt to sway him over to her side, "Michael." He was looking at the ground. "Look at me..." Michael shook his head no. "Michael, Look at ME!"

Sonya felt her grasp on Michael slipping away. "Alright! if you won't do it, I will!" Sonya raised her gun to shoot Fiona at point-blank.

_"Every spy lives in fear of loosing himself. When you work undercover the lines between loyalty and betrayal can become so blurred, so grey, that after a while you don't know what your fighting for anymore. You end up caught in the middle as your friends become your enemies and your enemies your friends... Until the time comes you are forced to make a choice."_

Michael's actions kicked into auto pilot. He shot Sonya before she could end Fiona's life. He didn't think about what he was doing, he just did it. Sonya turned around to look at Michael and the shock of betrayal was etched on her face as she fell to the ground. James had arrived by helicopter just in time to witness Michael shooting his beloved Sonya. He screamed in rage, NOOO!

Michael saw the blood dripping from Sonya's wound and he knew it was a deadly one. He ran to Sonya's side and cradled her head in his lap. "I'm sorry Sonya, I'm so sorry." She knew that she had given Michael no choice because deep down she had always realized that Michael would always choose Fiona over her because he could never stop loving her, it was just the kind of man he was. They're past, present and future were forever linked and Fiona had become part of his DNA. His devoutness and loyalty was one of the many things she had discovered she loved about Michael.

Gasping for air and spitting up blood, she knew she had to speak to Michael quickly before it was too late. "Michael...she sputtered, Michael." "I'm right here Sonya." He swept her hair out of her face as she motioned for him to come closer so he could hear what she had to say. She had one act of kindness to offer the only man she had ever loved before she took her final breath. "Michael, you never betrayed your friends...you never betrayed Fiona. James gave you drugs and brain washed you while you were with him. His methods are highly effective and technologically advanced, and you were stronger than anyone we had ever come across." Michael couldn't believe what she was telling him. He knew he had been off kilter and that he hadn't been able to reign his actions in, but he thought it was due to all the stress the last two years had taken on his life. "Sonya, why are you telling me this? She was fading quickly now..."Michael, because I love you." Her chest heaved one last time and she was gone. Michael saw the helicopter leaving and he looked up at Fiona. He wasn't sure what to do next.

James got on his radio. "This is James Kendrick, to all operatives, please forgive me. I have made a terrible error. Michael Westen has betrayed us. He and Fiona Glenanne are on the roof top of the facility. Your orders are to eliminate them. No mercy!"

"Sir, the CIA team is approaching."

"Is it safe to land?"

"No, sir."

"Get us out of here."

Fiona walked over to Michael, he was standing now and they never took their eyes off of each other. Fiona was about to say something when one of James' operatives came crashing through the roof access door. Fiona quickly turned around and shot him on sight. Fiona turned back around to face Michael and he touched her face. There were so many things he needed to tell her, but there wasn't anytime. Fiona heard more people coming and told Michael, "We have to go."

They ran for the other access door and headed down the stairs under heavy fire. Michael took the lead and they were shooting their way out of the building. Michael took out an operative and they barley made it out of the building. When they were outside they found themselves under even heavier fire. "You shouldn't have come back for me."

"It's a little too late for that."

"I need to get you out of here. You run and I'll cover you as best I can."

"No, I'm not running."

"Fi, look out there. They have a Humvee full of guards coming in. We can't hold them off." Gunfire erupted between the Humvee and James' men.

"Those aren't guards in that Humvee." Sam was driving and Jesse was taking men out one after the other so they could reach Michael and Fiona.

"I figured we could use a bigger ride," Sam smiled, "Let's get the hell out of here."

* * *

They had stopped at a location point to rally and figure out what to do next. Michael was standing alone looking out into the distance and he was remembering all of the events that took place in his life the past eight and a half years. How did it get to this point? He had betrayed so many people, and he knew that he didn't deserve their friendship or their loyalty. He overheard Sam telling Fiona, "I dumped the Humvee in a lot down the road. Hopefully it won't be found until nightfall, if were lucky."

"I tossed the phones into a dump truck. If anybody finds em' they'll be digging for hours through the landfill."

Fiona told them, "We have some breathing room...for now."

All three of them could feel Michael's apprehension and Sam broke the silence by walking over to him. "Hey Mike, Um... we gotta figure out our next steps here." Fiona and Jesse followed Sam.

"You guys should just go. My mom and Charlie should be at the rally point. You need to get them out of Miami."

Fiona questioned, "Well what about you?"

"I'll uh...I'll uh figure something out. Just go." Michael couldn't bring himself to look at any of them in the eye. He was so ashamed of the choices he had made.

Jesse spoke up, "Mike, we're not leaving you here. Are you crazy? We got problems."

"Problems I caused."

Fiona locked onto Michael's eyes. Oh god how she loved those eyes. "Michael, you lost your way."

"I betrayed the mission, Fi, and I turned on all of you."

"Mike, just stop right there, we didn't risk our necks saving you just to leave you behind. The CIA is gonna want to know what the hell went down back there, and we need your help to sort it out."

"Now, you with us?"...there was no answer. "Mike, are you in?" Michael looked at each one of his friends. First, Fiona, then Sam, and then Jesse. He didn't have any words. Here they were after everything that happened still standing by him, still risking their lives for him. He couldn't find his voice let alone any words, and he simply shook his head yes.

Sam spoke up, "All right good. We should get going. It's a long-ass walk back."

* * *

When they arrived in town, Michael and Fiona spotted a car to steal while Sam and Jesse grabbed some supplies from a gas station mart. Jesse asked the clerk, "You have any pre-paid cell phones?"

"Yeah, by the window."

"Thanks."

"_In the field there is nothing harder than when you let your team down. Apologies and regrets do no good. You all just have to move on and make the best of the situation. You have to try to keep your mind off of the past. But there are times when that's just not possible"_

"Michael, anyone coming?" He didn't answer her.

"Michael?"

"I hesitated. Back there on the roof. After all we've been through together, I almost didn't pull that trigger."

"But you did."

"Why did you come back, Fi? I didn't deserve it. There was no way you could have known you'd make it out alive."

"I knew that if I was wrong about you...It didn't matter if I got out of there alive." Her faith in him made the loving words she spoke sting even deeper. He hesitated with Fiona's life. For the first time in his life, he no longer trusted himself.

* * *

Sam picked up some beer and put it in his grocery basket, "Okay I'm good."

Jesse peered into Sam's basket. "What the hell's all this?"

"Supplies. I figured we could use some duct tape, you know one for everyone, just in case."

"You're getting beer? You realize we're on the run, right?"

"Yes, which means this could be our last six-pack."

"Okay, well in that case get something imported 'cause I'm not drinking that crap."

Sam was about to switch out the beer when he heard the sound of a shot gun being cocked. "Hands where I can see 'em."

Sam and Jesse put down their baskets and held their hands up. "What seems to be the problem here?"

"Well, you tell me." The clerk turned the t.v. that was on a swivel to show them that their faces along with Fiona and Michael's images were being blasted all over the television. "News says there's a fifty thousand dollar reward. Well, it looks like we just hit the lottery. Ain't that right, Marcos?" Sam and Jesse turned to the sound of a second gun clicking. The clerk called the police and was asking about the reward while keeping his shot gun pointed on them. In the meantime, Michael was looking through the gas station's window wondering what was keeping Sam and Jesse so long while Fiona hot wired the car they were in.

"Hey fellas, can we talk? I'm sure we can work something out. I mean do we look armed and dangerous to you?"

"Hey shut up! The news didn't say nothing that you gotta be alive." The clerk was talking on the phone with the police, "Yeah, I got this here bald headed one, yeah, and the one with the chin." Fiona was beginning to wonder what was taking Jesse and Sam so long too.

"We got to get out of here Michael."

"Look there, the back of the store." Michael pointed to Sam and Jesse.

"Oh, god, Michael, we have to get in there. All I have in my purse is some C-4. Our guns are empty we're going to have to bluff it."

_"As an operative it's your job to determine how likely a particular plan is to succeed and if something looks like a suicide mission to call it_ off. _Of course that only matters if you care whether you live or die._"

"Yeah...that's the plan. Let's go in and bluff it." Michael wasn't about to put Fiona in harms way again and once she got out of the car he locked the doors.

"Michael, what are you doing? Michael! Michael, open the door!" Fiona was banging on the window, "Michael!"

Burning rubber at full speed, Michael drove the car through the gas station windows. Once he was inside he ran out of the car and subdued the clerk but not before being grazed by a bullet. Having the distraction gave Sam and Jesse a chance to take down Marcos. Michael took the shot gun away from the clerk and cocked the gun and pointed at him. "Stay down!"

"Jeeze Mike, you alright?" His upper arm was bleeding.

"Yeah, he just grazed me."

Fiona came running in behind him, "Michael, what the hell? You could've been killed!"

"But I wasn't...let's go."

* * *

Strong was sitting back at the CIA office wondering what the hell went wrong? He couldn't believe that everything went to shit. He heard the phone ring and reluctantly picked it up. "Hello."

"It's me."

"I was wondering if you were gonna call."

"Strong, my friends and I are all over the news."

"Yeah, there's a good reason for that. You are the MOST WANTED people in the state right now, if not the whole country."

"Well, you have to call this off."

"Don't you dare tell me what I have to do! The last I heard from you was that we were supposed to be catching Kendrick! Only when I got there, do you know what I found? NO target, NO agent, just Sonya lying dead on a helipad. I assume that was your work?"

"Yeah, that was me."

"I don't know what the hell happened out there, but I do know this: you and your friends have destroyed this entire operation."

"Look, my friends had nothing to do with that. Leave them out of this. I'll come in...I'll-"

"Save your breath, 'cause the CIA is fresh out of deals for Michael Westen. You promised them Kendrick's network, and they didn't get it. This operation is over. My career is over. And as for you...you think it was tough being burned? You haven't seen anything yet."

* * *

_"A spy's ability to operate depends on secrecy. Your anonymity is your greatest weapon. It allows you to operate anywhere, to deceive your enemies and when it's all over to slip back into the shadows. When the world knows your face, your options get a lot more limited. At that point, all you can really do is attack."_

Everyone was gathered around Michael. "We go after Kendrick directly."

"Mike, come on, you can't be serious. You want to go after him now?

"The CIA, they're sending everything they have after us, but they want James, and they want his network. I think it's the only card we have left to play."

Jesse spoke up, "come on, after everything that just went down, that's suicide."

"I have to try, whatever the consequence. Sonya mentioned a satellite expert in Miami, he was making a communication center for James. If I can locate him, I might have a chance to pull this off. You guys lay low-"

Sam wasn't having any of it, "uh-uh brother, if you think we're all just gonna hide in a hole somewhere while you do this, it's not gonna happen."

"It's my decision." Jesse wasn't pulling any punches either, "Mike, enough! We're in this! Your in no position to do this by yourself. There's a communications guy I used to work with, I trust him. I'll talk to him. Maybe he can help us find James' guy."

Fiona could see that Michael wasn't happy. She walked up to him, "We'll work on this, but right now you need to see your mom."

* * *

Madeline was waiting at the safe house with Charlie. She sat watching her grandson sleep so peacefully. She envied him being a child and his ability to be carefree and unaware of the tragic turn of events that had unfolded. How did her life end up in such a mess? Once Frank died, she thought the years of drama and unrest were far behind her. She could've never imagined the pain and chaos that Michael's life would cause her, and her family.

It had taken it's toll on her over the years. She didn't blame him entirely, she knew it wasn't really his fault. He had made such a difference to so many people for the better in this world. She loved and admired him. His abilities astonished her at times, and she was amazed how he had handled himself in such dangerous and precarious situations. She was proud of all that he had accomplished, but they both had paid such a high cost for his calling. She lost a son and he lost his brother because of his work, and now she was on the run with her precious grandbaby. She was so uncertain how it would all work out. She prayed they would all be safe and far from the hands of anyone that could take Charlie away from her, she couldn't bare the loss of another child. She hoped she prayed that had made the right decision for them all by agreeing to come along. Madeline heard a knock at the door and she jumped up from her chair. She was happy to see Michael walk through the door. "Michael, I was so afraid."

"Mom, it's all right. It's all right."

"What does that mean?"

Michael smiled at her to reassure her, "Fi, got to me. She got to me before it was too late."

"Where is everybody? I thought they were supposed to meet at the rally point."

"Plans have changed." Michael pulled a phone out of his pocket. "This phone is going to be for emergencies only. You need to stay out of sight for just a little while longer."

"Michael, what's going on?... answer me what's going on?"

"The CIA found out what I was doing. They're hunting for us."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going after James and his network. It's our only chance."

"Michael, please, I've seen what those people can do. I don't want you going...Please!"

"I've made up my mind."

"I don't want to loose you too." Michael saw the heartbreak on his mother's face and he desperately wanted to be able to promise her that he would be all right, but he knew that would be a lie. He held her hands tenderly.

"Mom, I can't make any promises, sometimes sacrifices have to be made." She smiled at him, "Charlie's birthday is coming up soon. When I asked him who he wanted there, the first person he said was Uncle Michael. We're having strawberry ice cream. Do you remember who else loved strawberry ice cream?

"Nate."

"If you can't make it to the party, what am I supposed to tell Charlie when he ask where you are?"

Michael hugged his mother tightly and held her close and she wrapped her arms around him. He lingered for a moment and then kissed her on the forehead. He knew it may be the last time he would ever see her. He turned around an left quickly because he would break down and cry if he stayed a moment longer. Madeline sobbed silently and she watched her first born son walk out the front door. Sadly she had the feeling that it may be the last time she ever saw him and tears streamed down her face as she stood shivering from the torment of the thought of it.

* * *

Michael drove Jesse to go talk to his friend. "How did it go?"

"He got me into the research office and we checked out all the top satellite experts in Miami. I think we hit the jackpot." Jesse handed Michael a file. "That's Max Lyster. Contract for the NSA, mostly. But get this. A few months ago, he took a leave from his firm to work on a special project. Nobody knows what it was."

"James' communication center."

"Time frame fits perfectly. He's our guy. That's the good news. The bad news is he's a security nut. Lives in a gated community in the Gables, consults at a Naval base in the Everglades." Michael thought just once could things be a little easier and go our way?

"What about hitting him in transit?"

"My thoughts exactly. Let's get Sam and Fi on it."

"Jesse, I need to ask you something. When we do this tomorrow, I need you to watch over my mom and Charlie."

"Mike, you guys are gonna have your hands full taking down James. I need to be there."

"I can't do this without knowing that they're safe...please."

"All right man. I guess that's how we do this."

* * *

_"Grabbing someone on the move is all about surprise. The goal is to get your target out of his car and into yours before he knows what's happening. If you have the manpower it's best to separate into two teams. One to track the target's car, and one to prepare the ambush. _

Sam was waiting on the road where they were going to hit Lyster. Sam answered the phone, "Yeah what's going on?"

Michael let him know," Lyster's headed your way."

"Okay, I'm putting everything in place right now."

Sam prepared a trap for Lyster by laying down a board full of nails, and he covered it up with palm leaves to disguise the ambush. When he was through arranging the snare he settled back in the foliage so he wouldn't be seen. He called Michael to let him know it was done. "Okay, all set. What's your E.T.A.?"

"About twenty seconds."

"Copy that. Okay, here we go. Impact in three, two...the car ran over the board without any damage...Son of a bitch!"

Sam came out of cover and fired at the car with a shotgun. The bullets bounced off the car without any effect. "You gotta be kidding me!"

Sam called Michael and Fiona, he was on speaker, "Yeah guys, we got a problem. The tires didn't blow, the car is armored."

"Catch him Fi!"

"Reality check it's not gonna happen."

"We have to Sam. He knows we're after him. If he alerts James it's over."

"Okay, how? The car just took a couple of rounds of buckshot at ten feet without a dent. What the hell are you going to do?"

"Fi, you still have that C-4 in your bag?"

"Yes, but what are you gonna..."

"Stay with him!"

"Michael are you gonna..."

"Don't loose him! Pull up along side him. Get closer... closer Fi!"

"Michael are you sure..."

"STAY WITH HIM FI!" Michael got the C-4 device ready and opened the door to the speeding car that was racing along side of Lyster.

Fiona couldn't believe what Michael was doing. "Michael?"

Michael jumped on to Lyster's car holding onto the hood. Lyster was screeching all over the road trying to shake him of the hood. Michael planted the C-4 charge underneath the wheel well and jumped off the hood of the car.

"_Small explosive chargers won't penetrate an armored car, but the doesn't mean they're useless. If your desperate enough, a well-placed charge can come in handy. Since an armored car won't drive if its wheels aren't on the ground."_

When the car flipped over Lyster tried to escape. He was crawling out of the shattered window when Michael came running towards him. Gas was leaking from the car and surrounded the pavement all around Lyster.

"Who are you?"

"Who we are is not important."

"What do you want?"

"You set up a secret communication center for James Kendrick. Where is it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Michael shouted, "Max...then he shot a bullet near him. "It's not a good idea to lie to people with this much gas around."

Michael looked and acted like a deranged lunatic firing the gun over and over.

"What are you doing? Michael was walking closer and closer to him. "You're going to kill both of us."

"Yes, I am, unless you ANSWER MY QUESTION!"

Fiona caught up with them and saw Michael putting his life in danger. "Michael!" He shot the gun again.

"Where is it?" Michael moved in even closer and pointed the gun to Max's head. Lyster knew he was going to die at the hands of this mad man. "Okay, stop! Just stop! They gave me a bunch of money, so I did a job for them. They came back, and they said if I ever said anything I was dead. It's in a building downtown. All right?"

"Good. You're going to take us to it." Fiona was certain that Michael had officially lost it. He kept putting his life in extreme danger. Even for him.

* * *

Sam, Michael, Fiona and Lyster arrived at the building.

"James has a communication center in there? I don't buy it." Sam was a little more than skeptical.

"I swear. It's the old Miami Chronicle building. They condemned it after the last hurricane."

"These guys could get any building they want. Why would they use some moldy, old place?"

"The building had all the tech already. Satellite hookups, microwave dish array, all of it. They bought it from the demolition team. I just hooked into what was already there."

"It makes sense Sam, near a main road, no one would notice anyone coming in or out."

Fiona chimed in, "perfectly hidden in plain sight, unbelievable."

"How many people are in there? How many guards?"

"It's unmanned. It's just a relay station. They pick up secure signals, they encrypt them, and then they pass them on."

"Are there back ups to the system?"

"Please, He'll kill me."

"If we succeed, he'll be in no position to kill anyone. If we don't...well, you're dead anyway."

"Hard drive, it records everything in case the power goes out."

"That's what we'll bring to the CIA."

"You're going to tell us where to find it and how to get it."

"Then can I go?"

"Then you can go back into the trunk until we're done."

Max started chuckling. Sam told him, "Mike is serious, now shut up."

"_When breaking into a building it's generally best not to use the door. Any entrance the enemy knows you may use is too risky. Which means the safest way is often the hardest."_

Fiona, Michael and Sam were preparing to blast their way through a concrete wall, but before they were through Fiona and Sam had something to say to Michael.

"Before we do this, we need to talk."

"She's right, Mikey. It's important." Sam felt so bad for his best friend and he couldn't imagine Mike ending it all on purpose. He hoped that Fiona and him could get through to him.

"What you did earlier, plowing into that store and then jumping on that car, almost incinerating yourself..."

"It was a calculated risk. I needed information and..."

"Mike don't. We've known each other too long. There's a difference between a necessary risk and a death wish, and you know it."

Fiona looked at Michael tenderly, "Michael, I know you're hurting. I know you regret what you've done. But what is killing yourself going to prove?" Fiona wanted to take all the pain away from the man that she loved. She regretted every weight she added to his burden. He had always tried to do the right thing, and care for the people that had become part of his family. She was so angry with herself for being so prideful. She couldn't stand to see him like this and she wondered if he would ever recover from the shame he was feeling.

Michael couldn't believe the friendship that was pouring out from the both of them. Neither one of them knew what Sonya had revealed to him in her last breaths. He had been brain washed, forced to behave in a way that he never would have if he was in his right mind. They didn't know and yet their kindness kept flooding him. He didn't want their pity, and he didn't think he would ever tell them what James had done to him if they made it out alive... which he strongly doubted they would.

"We're wasting time." He grabbed the detonator from Fiona. "Let's do this." He hit the button and the wall exploded on command.

When they entered the building they could see that at every door and every window James had rigged to explode. Anyone who tried to enter without permission would be blown away on contact. The old newspaper building was huge and the booby traps were everywhere. Fiona was following the map that Lyster had drawn for her. When they got to the door they all hesitated. "Moment of truth." Fiona entered the code to open the door. They all were relieved when they heard the beep that signaled the door was unlocked. Sam smiled at Fiona, "after you."

* * *

Jesse, Madeline and Charlie were staying at the safe house waiting for the team's return. Jesse was trying to pack a duffel bag. "Okay, that should be everything that you and Charlie need." Jesse shook a nicotine box at her while she watched him stuff the bag. "It's a little full, but it just has to last until we settle down someplace."

"When will that be?" Madeline was so tired. She never pictured her golden years raising her grandson and living on the run from every agency known to mankind. It was all so overwhelming. Sometimes she could get so angry thinking about Michael and worrying about his safety. She knew in the end she would probably lose Michael the same way she lost Nate. To soon and with a bullet.

Jesse saw the exhaustion on Maddy's face. "Honestly, I don't know. Soon hopefully, maybe ..."

"Never?"

"I don't like to think that way. But it's best to be prepared, right?" Jesse stopped duct taping the overfilled duffel bag together and sat down to talk to Madeline. "It's gonna be okay."

"Is it?"

It is, we're together and were going to take care of each other. We just need to get out of the state, find a place to lay low and set up some new I.D.s. We'll be good."

"Jesse, how can you do this? With everything that's happened your still here for Michael."

"What makes you think that I'm just here for Michael?"

"You're talking about going into hiding for years, maybe. With a bunch of people who haven't made your life very easy. Haven't you ever wanted to just...go?"

"I have asked myself that same question many, many times. I just...I don't know. When I was a kid, it was just me and my mom, and then she got killed, and then it was just me. Just me...until I met you guys. I never had a family, and now I got one." Madeline looked at Jesse with so much love in her eyes, "You do have a family Jesse." She laughed, "sorry." Jesse laughed too and then held her hands. "All right."

* * *

Michael got the hard drives that he needed. "Got em. Let's go."

A phone starting ringing. Fiona said, "it's me." Sam picked up his phone and then Michael. "No Fi, it's not just you, it's all our phones." Sam looked at Michael, "this is bad. Anyone else have our numbers besides Maddy?"

"No." Michael put his phone on speaker. "Hello."

"You broke my heart, Michael. I gave you everything and you broke my heart."

"It's over James. We have your entire network. It is over!"

"Ahh no, Michael. I don't think it is over. Remember the convenience store you robbed yesterday? You stole some mobile phones from there. Well, I tracked them down and they led me to my very own relay station. KNOCK, KNOCK Michael, we are right outside the control room. Oh and one more thing, you will never guess where those other two phones led me." Michael felt his stomach come up to his throat. His mother and Charlie were in danger.

* * *

"All right Maddy, You all set?"

"Yeah," Madeline picked up Charlie's back pack. "I got this," and she pointed to Charlie, "and I got this." Madeline smiled at Jesse.

"Let's do it." Jesse picked up the heavy duffel bag and grunted from the weight of it. "Ugg Oh my goodness! " he headed towards the front door and as soon as he opened it, he saw cars approaching their safe house. He quickly shut the door. Madeline asked, "What is it?"

* * *

"James this is between you and me."

"Not anymore Michael, I like your mama, and your nephew Charlie is a lovely boy. Even though it pains me, I will not hesitate to shoot them down like dogs. Just like you killed my Sonya."

"Leave my family out of this. The boy is only three years old."

"Michael, if you want to save them, you will surrender, you will tell me what you've done, and then you will die."

"And my friends?"

"Well, it's their lucky day. I could use some bargaining chips with the CIA. Do as I tell you and they'll live."

"I just need...just a little more time."

"I know you. You are looking for the answer, for the way out. There is no way out. There's only the **reckoning** now! You are out of time, Michael Westen!"

"Would you allow me to call my mother? Then I'll come out quietly."

"Two minutes, no more."

Fiona and Sam jumped in and wanted to talk to Michael about what they just heard, but Michael held his hands up to quiet them and proceeded to call his mother. "Hello."

"Mom, listen to me. Are their men outside?"

"Yes."

"I have a lot to explain to you."

"There's no need to explain. He's using us."

"Yes, mom and any move I make is gonna get the three of you killed. So, I'm going to have to give him what he wants."

"NO! Don't you give that man a damn thing!"

"Ma, you don't understand. You and Charlie..."

"I do understand, Michael, and Charlie's going to be fine."

"What are you talking about?"

"I found a way to buy Jesse and Charlie a chance to get out of here."

"Ma...I don't know what your planning but..."

"Michael! You said it yourself. Sometimes...sacrifices must be made. In the bag of supplies there was an explosive charge. Listen to me, there is no remote detonator Michael, and there's no time to build one."

"Mom...don't. Mom! please don't do..."

"Michael, you have protected me enough, and now you need my help. If saving you means I don't get out of here, it's fine with me. God knows I have failed you enough times in the past. Give me this, please. Michael, listen to me. You made mistakes. We all did, but I am so proud of the man you are. I always have been.

Michael wanted to wake up from this nightmare that just kept getting worse and worse. He was going to lose his mother now too...

I love you, Michael."

"I love you."

"Good-bye, baby."

"Good-bye, mom." Michael had tears rolling down his cheeks. That would be the last time he ever heard his mother's voice and it was because of the mistakes he had made. Nate paid the price for them, and now his mother too.

* * *

Madeline hung up the phone with Michael and told Jesse, "It's time."

"Maddy...there has to be another way."

"There is no other way. Those men outside are about to break in here, and somebody's got to be in here to use this thing."

"No! This is crazy! I'm not letting you do this."

"Jesse this has nothing to do with you and me. This has everything to do with that little boy in there. This is just a distraction and it will take a lot of them out, but you got to fight your way out of here and I can't do that! You can, it's as simple as that."

"Charlie honey, come here baby. That's my boy, come here. Come here sweetheart." Maddy gave Charlie the biggest squeeze. "Look at me, do you know grandma loves you? She would do anything, anything in the world to protect you. Now, I want you to go with Jesse, and you're gonna play a game. Okay? You're gonna hide, and you're gonna shut your eyes, really, really tight and cover your ears. Can you do that for me? You give me a hug. Come here baby." Madeline gave Charlie one last squeeze.

Jesse picked up Charlie and he was trying to hold back his own tears for Charlie's sake. He couldn't say anything to Maddy or he wouldn't be able to hold it together. She had been so good to him these last few years and he had grown to love her as his own mom. He couldn't believe there wasn't anything he could do to save her. He hugged her tight with Charlie in his hands. Maddy lent him her own strength now. "Go Jesse, you got to go, please." Jesse turned around and walked away as Madeline was smiling, she waved good-bye to Charlie.

* * *

Sam was beside himself. "Mike, you got to call her back this is crazy!" Sam grabbed the phone from a lifeless Michael and dialed Maddy's phone number. He got a recording from the operator. He threw the phone across the room. "Son of a bitch!" Fiona was crying too. "Michael we don't have much time. What do you want to do?"

When Fiona asked him that question everything came flooding back to him and his will to defeat James snapped him hard like a rubber band. "I want to fight! I want to take James down. I'm gonna get the drives to the CIA. My mom bought me a second chance. I owe it to her to use it."

"All right brother, let's do this!"

James was waiting outside the door. He was counting down his attack. "Five seconds. We go on my signal."

"James, I'm coming out." Michael opened the door to more than a few operatives pointing guns at him.

"Michael, I was beginning to wonder if we understood each other?"

"We understand each other just fine. Fiona's coming out. She's going to talk terms for the others."

"There's nothing to negotiate, but if she wants to talk, then we will talk. Besides, I'd like her to watch you die. That's far enough, Michael, you can stop right there." Michael and Fiona were standing side by side with their hands up in the air. Fiona looked at Michael and whispered, "should we shoot them?" Both of them had guns hiding in the back of their waists. They each crossed hands behind each other and pulled out the other's gun and began to fire. They immediately dove for cover. "I only got one." "I only got one." While they were fighting James and his men they gave Sam the distraction he needed to leave with the hard drives. Sam headed for the stairs. James ordered one of his men to go after him. James got on his phone, "move in, kill Madeline Westen and the boy, now!"

James' men started running for the door to kill Madeline and Charlie. Jesse was sitting with Charlie in the bathtub shielding him with his body. Madeline had turned a chair around to face the front door so she could look the bastards in the eye when they came charging through the front door. She sat waiting with a lit cigarette in hand. She inhaled deeply. She thought to herself "gawd how I've missed these things." How odd that this is what she would be thinking of before she blew herself to smithereens she thought. When the door swung open she calmly told them, "this is for my boys," and smiled. She hit the button and the explosive took out most of James' men.

Jesse and Charlie heard the boom, the whole house shook. Pieces of plaster came tumbling down around him and he knew Maddy was gone. Jesse told Charlie to cover his ears and stay in the bathtub while he checked out the situation. He looked out the bathroom window and watched two more operatives coming for them. He shot them both down and then picked of Charlie. "It's time to go Charlie."

* * *

Sam was making his way to an exit while being pursued by one of James' men. Sam dove for cover just in time from the automatic gun fire that would have shred him to pieces. He was running out of options, he was down to one bullet. He was going to have to get creative, but that's what he was good at. He got out of Columbia with his out of the box thinking and divine intervention. He was praying for some more of the same thing now. An idea came to him, he took a roll of duct tape and threw it against a wall so the gunman would give his position away chasing down the distraction. When it hit the wall, James' man fired at it. Sam stood up, and put his last bullet through the operative's head and killed him. He was on his way out the building to safety with the hard disks in hand. He couldn't believe he was going to make it out alive, and wished the best for his friends behind him.

Michael and Fiona were low on ammunition. It wasn't a fair fight, they were out manned and out gunned. Michael shot off a few more rounds and he was completely out of bullets. Fiona told him that she only had half a clip left.

James' began to yell. "It was a valiant effort Michael, noble even, but you're only delaying the inevitable! This is over! You know it!" The gunfire stopped and it was silent. Michael whispered to Fiona, "James' men are devoted to him. If I make a run for him, they'll come out from cover to defend him. If your fast, you can take out the last two."

"And then what? You don't even have a gun."

"You'll have to lend me yours."

"Well, that's not possible." Fiona was looking at Michael like he was crazy. "If this is about your death wish..."

"No! I want to live. He stared into Fiona's eyes...maybe even more than I ever have." Michael cupped Fiona's face and she held his hand to her cheek and melted into his touch. She smiled at him and he smiled back at her. They both knew that this would probably end up with the both of them dead, but they wanted to go out with guns blazing. Michael gazed at his brown-haired beauty just a moment longer. She was bronzed from the years of living in Florida. She adored the sun and she flourished under the kiss of its golden rays. She was so much different from the porcelain, fresh-faced girl he had first met in Ireland so many years ago. She had tiny lines around her beautiful eyes now, and small laugh lines around her mouth. She was older, wiser, and he didn't understand how it was possible, but she was even more stunning now then the day he first met her.

"Give it up, Michael!"

Michael sprung up and ran towards James. He was running for Nate, for his mother, for the years that had been stolen from him, and for the part of his mind that James had taken from him. Just as Michael had predicted James' men popped out of hiding to protect him. Fiona used her deadly marksman skills and took out both operatives giving Michael a slight chance to survive without a gun. James Shot towards Fiona, and then towards the sound of Michael diving for cover. Fiona screamed out Michael's name and she slid her gun across the floor to him. He quickly picked it up and leaned into view of James coming around the corner towards him, and shot directly at James' chest two times. James slid to the floor. Michael had his gun still trained on him. He walked over to kick James' gun out of his reach. Fiona came running behind him happy to see her man was still alive, she knew it was nothing short of a full scale miracle.

"It's over James."

"So what now? You gonna turn me in? You gonna hand me over to the C-I-A? What are you looking for? Redemption? You want your old life back? It's gone! It was gone when you decided she was more important than anything else. Fiona looked over at Michael.

Michael answered James' question, "I know... Time to go."

"Not gonna happen."

"You don't have a choice."

"There's always a choice, Michael! Those explosives you saw on the way in...They're not just for keeping people out." James had his finger on a detonator.

"Michael that's a dead man switch."

"It didn't have to be this way! We could have done amazing things together. James knew the moment he witnessed Michael shoot his beloved Sonya as he helplessly watched her fall to the ground that one of them was going to die. He vowed to make Michael suffer for his murderous act of treason. Today both of them would die in one glorious, triumphed, crescendo of fiery death. We could have changed the world Michael! Ah another life!" James hit the button that set off the charges in his final act of victory.

* * *

Sam barely made it out before the charges went off. Running from the building he hit the pavement with a thud from the blast of the explosives going off one right after the other. Huge, dark billowing, plumes of smoke-filled the air. As Sam was sprawled out on the floor he turned over just in time to see the Chronicle crumbling before his very own eyes. The revelation was unfolding all around him that there was no way Fiona and Michael made it out alive. He fell back helplessly to floor. Sam looked up in horror and shock at the contrast between the heavenly deep-blue sky and the hellish acrid smoke that started filling the air all around him. The Chronicle imploded on itself as if it were an apocalyptic firestorm raining down heated twisted metal and concrete. Nothing remained of the building his best friends made their last stand in.

* * *

Sam and Jesse were waiting in a CIA office for Strong. "Thanks for coming."

"Well, we didn't exactly have a choice. Your guys walked us in from a detention area."

"I know this has been a hard time for a lot of reasons. I can't really get into all the details, but I wanted you to know that we have tracked down over a hundred operatives worldwide who were working for James' network. They were in a position to do a lot of damage."

"Well, I guess that's something to think about...during the long nights in our cells."

"About your detention, there are a lot of people here who want to leave you there. They're just not in a forgiving mood."

Sam scoffed, "well, figures as much. You know spies, a bunch a bitchy little girls."

"Yeah, sometimes, the fact is that you're the heroes of this op. So, I played a little bureaucratic hardball, and I ah...I got you cleared. You can go."

"What do you mean?" Jesse couldn't believe what his ears were hearing.

"I mean there's a car waiting for you downstairs. They'll take you where you want to go."

"Oh hey, one more thing. The wall downstairs, the memorial to the agents fallen in the line of duty, Michael's going to get his star."

"Thank you."

* * *

A drum roll, bagpipes, and gun fire could be heard for a distance from the grave yard. Sam wore his dress blues as he fired the gun to salute his fallen comrade. Jesse and the others that had gathered to pay their respects were treated to a very patriotic funeral in honor of Michael, and Fiona. The agency owed a lot to the both of them.

_"A spy is never truly done being a spy until he's dead_. _It's part of you, the skills, the secrets...They never go away, and as long as you can be useful to someone, it's your fate to always be a spy. But if there's one thing spies are bad at, it's excepting fate."_

* * *

The only two people besides Michael and Fiona that knew what had really happened the day James had brought the "reckoning" down on them was Sam and Jesse. Or so they thought.

In the very last possible moments Michael had grabbed Fiona's hand and they ran through the building with explosives going off nipping at their heals. As fast as their feet could carry them, Michael and Fiona headed for the window. Michael shot at the glass while they ran towards it at break neck speed to lessen the impact when they crashed through it. Several stories up they plunged out the broken window and jumped in the harbor that lined the entire side of the Miami Chronicle. With plumes of blazing, blistering fire scorching the air around them only milliseconds stood between Michael and Fiona being engulfed by a burning, fiery death.

* * *

"Well, they missed a good funeral. Where do you think they are?"

"Hard to say. There's a lot of places in the world with C-4 and yogurt." Jesse smiled at Sam's remark. "We'll hear from them when the time is right."

"Yeah."

"Got any plans?"

"Not really, no. You?"

"I'm supposed to meet a guy later at the Carlito. Friend of Elsa's."

"Yeah? what about?"

"I don't know, some kind of problem. Sounded pretty desperate on the phone. Wanna come with?"

"You buying the Mojitos?"

"Yep."

Before they left the funeral site, Sam saluted Michael. "Good luck Mike...wherever you are."

* * *

Michael and Fiona had traveled over land and sea to escape into the shadows. They needed a respite from the years of Michael being burned by the CIA and from being forced to work deep cover. All of their world had been turned upside down and they needed a place to put back together the pieces of their shattered lives.

Michael prepared several places throughout the globe that could safely camouflage his existence, now that he wasn't trying to get back to the CIA he could take full advantage of the money and safe houses he had tucked away from the peering eyes of anyone including Langley. All good spies know that someday such a place might be needed.

The snow gently fell like powder falling from the sky and dusted the earth around them. The moon whispered a winter lullaby to the forest that surrounded their cozy cottage. The fire's light was flickering on the dark, frosted window panes and illuminated the toasty cottage that was now their home. Michael pondered many things while Charlie slept soundly on his lap. He loved Charlie, but he really didn't know anything about taking care of someone so small. He was glad Fiona was with him. His mom had sacrificed her life for the chance that they could live, it was such a high price to pay, but there was no room for the sadness of regrets if Fiona and him were going to build a life together and a new life for Charlie.

Fiona had made some tea and brought it back to the couch where she watched Michael try to get comfortable with his new role as care taker. Michael was happy that she was back within talking distance. "Should I...um?" He pointed to the bedroom as if to ask should he put Charlie in the room.

"Yeah, I don't think he'll wake up. He's out like a light." Michael shook his head in agreement, secretly he was glad that she was confident in her decision to move the boy. He worked his way up from the couch being sure to not jar Charlie and tucked him in his bed. When he was done, he came back to the couch and sat beside Fiona. He never imagined that they would be together again, and he was grateful that she still loved him. They sat quietly staring at the dancing flames in the fire place. Both of them seemed memorized by it's hypnotic quality. Michael did have something on his mind and the longer he thought about it the more the burning question had to be asked. "What will I tell him when he's older?"

"About what?"

"About me."

"Tell him the truth."

"Where would I start?"

Fiona snuggled as close as she could to Michael and rested her head on his shoulders. "Start from the beginning. Start with...my name is Michael Westen. I used to be a spy."

Michael smiled and stared into the beautiful brown eyes that comforted his very soul. He leaned into kiss the woman he had longed to be with for so long. She had long waited for this moment too. The past was behind them and Charlie was asleep. They needed each other. They had been apart for so long their souls where like a parched desert, cracked and barren. Only their love could deeply water and flourish the parts of them that needed to feel alive again.

Michael swept her long beautiful hair off of her neck and kissed her throat as if it were the nectar of the gods. She sighed in ecstasy that her lover would be hers again. She had missed his touch, his kiss, his scent. There was only here and now between them. No death, no CIA, no mistakes, just the two of them in this moment of pure joy. Expertly he delighted all of her senses. They hungrily consumed each other's talents. Depleted and empty from the night's passion, they fell in an exhausted heap and wrapped themselves up in a quilt next to the fire. Michael saw the dew of perspiration on her bronzed skin, and was happy with what he had accomplished. She laughed when she realized why he was grinning, and she was more than happy too. They knew that this would be the first of many more nights of only belonging to each other. They were fortunate to be out of the "game" they were glad to have their anonymity, and when it was safe they would send word to Sam and Jesse that all was well.

* * *

Michael and Fiona were unaware that the CIA knew they weren't dead. With Charlie missing it didn't take a rocket scientist to know they escaped with their lives and had him. Strong didn't want to give them any advantage so he let Sam and Jesse believe they thought they were dead too. Strong knew that Michael needed a break and deserved a few months of rest, but the entire world now believed he was dead. Strong couldn't leave a golden opportunity like that untapped. Michael would one day again make the perfect operative. They wouldn't let him go that easy, but that is a story for another day.


End file.
